We were heartbroken by the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing events that unfolded in our country following his death.
The Fetzer Institute’s mission of helping build the spiritual foundation for a loving world compels us to address the challenging structural issues that have given rise to racial injustice in the United States' history.
We recognize the sacred dignity and worth of everyone in our country, and we commit to joining others in building a society and a world in which not just some of us, but all of us, can flourish.
Congruent with our mission, this requires the work and practice of living into and creating the beloved community—a community where love and sacred relationships triumph over fear and hatred, with justice and equity at the center.
We take this moment to reaffirm our purpose statement for our diversity, equity, and inclusion work:
As a community of freedom working together in support of the Fetzer Institute’s mission…
We believe the fundamental nature of reality is a sacred community that includes all people and all of creation.
We believe that robust diversity is the core of our sacred community. A threat to human flourishing anywhere is a threat to human flourishing everywhere.
We acknowledge that we do actual harm to both self and society when we fail to name and dismantle threats to equity and inclusion.
We therefore commit to deepen our collective understanding of the systemic impacts of bias and oppression at every level of our internal and external work, and to implement strategic practices that contribute to a truly loving world for all.
The disturbing events over the past week and over the nation’s 400-year history illuminate the systemic nature of American racism. Racism includes not just overt bigotry, but also unseen, more harmful forms. These are seen in white privilege—a construct in our society that gives many advantages to white people. These advantages are not available to everyone else. We recognize that individual actions are key. But, racism is not just about actions. We all must face the evidence that racism deeply affects us all whether we are white, brown, or black.
We ask all of us to wonder. We should ask from our hearts and our minds. What does this moment mean for us and our country?
We know that answers will emerge and deepen over time. We will live with this question and dedicate ourselves to truth-telling about race in the United States. This will help us move toward living free of racial injustice. We will become models of the world we want to leave to coming generations.
For our partners who already do this work with courage and heart, we thank you for your partnership and your commitment. And there is work that many of us have yet to do. We must all listen deeply, respond with love, and act with conviction.
Only by grounding ourselves in our deepest spiritual values can we sustain the courage to enter into the difficult inner work of racial justice and the unrelenting commitment to transforming our world.
Bob Boisture is the Fetzer Institute's President and CEO; Carolyn Brown chairs the Fetzer Institute's Board of Trustees.