With all that is going on in the world, now is not the time to talk about boats. While much of our industry, our livelihoods and our neighborhoods have been insulated from the impact of recent days, what is happening matters to us and we want to take a stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
It is clear that much needs to be done. We have decided to start with educating ourselves and would like to share with you some of the resources we’ve found and are going to use. We thought you might find these helpful as well.
Going forward, we pledge to do better. We all must work to dismantle the systemic inequities brought on by white supremacy. Below are some ways to begin.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Campaign Zero Dedicated to ending policy violence by focusing on policy solutions. The organization’s work specifically urges policy makers to take deliberate action to limit police intervention, improve community interactions, and ensure accountability at every level of government.
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund The United States’ first and largest grassroots-based civil rights organization is dedicated to creating change through legal action to ensure the health and well-being of all people.
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights The largest and most diverse civil and human rights coalition in the U.S., strives for change through policy.
Equal Justice Initiative Led by Bryan Stevenson, author of “Just Mercy,” this organization is committed to ending mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality in the U.S. with a focus on change through legal action.
National Movement for Black Lives Matter This coalition of groups across the United States represents the interests of Black communities, seeking to mobilize, organize, and strategize to protect Black lives. Founded on the idea that we can achieve more together, this movement is geared towards change through policy.
Black Lives Matter Founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murder, #BlackLivesMatter is a global organization focused on community building and ending white supremacy.
SIGN ON THE LINE
Add your name to a national petition. Click the links below:
• Change.org Petition For George Floyd
REGISTER TO VOTE
Voting is essential to changing our country’s laws. Register here, and encourage everyone you know to do the same.
GET EDUCATED
Here’s some recommend reading (and watching):
• Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
• Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
• An Antiracist Reading List by New York Times
• Ferguson Report by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
• Support Black Enterprise and Entrepreneurship with Official Black Wall Street
• Antiracist, defined and discussed by Jimmy Fallon and NCAA President, Derrick Johnson