Dear Beloved Community:

We remain heartbroken by the racism and police brutality suffered by African Americans and People of Color, including Indigenous people, in our nation and around the world. The abominable murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery show us what has been true of our country since its colonization: racism is deeply rooted within every system, including our organizations and leadership paradigms. Enough is enough. It is time to take collective action to dismantle systemic racism and eliminate white supremacy.  

We stand in solidarity with Communities of Color in the fight for justice because we believe Black Lives Matter. But beliefs are not enough. We commit as a team to become an anti-racist organization and to deepen how we embed racial justice within our Shared Leadership Framework.™ Although we have been supporting organizations in the work of sharing power and leadership for 18 years, our team is always learning and growing into our shared accountability in understanding, language, and action. As a mostly white team, we acknowledge our privilege and embrace the responsibility we have to be part of the solution.

In a letter to the B Corp community called Tackling Racism As Accountable Business Leader by Anthea Kelsick, Co-CEO of B Lab, Anthea states: “We cannot credibly build an inclusive economic system without addressing the fundamental injustice, inequity, and violence that disproportionately impacts Black people and other People of Color.” We encourage you to read her full post here. To support our explicit anti-racist commitment in our work and within our organization, we are reading How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi.

May the emergent shared vision for racial justice spark our collective healing. May it unite us in the sacred responsibility to the wholeness of our humanity and the web of life.

In Solidarity,

The GRTL Team