Black Lives Matter
JUNE 17, 2020
At Powerful Voices, we create social justice spaces where girls of color can unapologetically practice saying what’s in their heart, be in community with other young folks, womxn, and femmes of color, and make a collective change in their communities. In our programs, young people critically explore how systemic racism manifests itself in their schools, the media, and in the criminal justice system, and how they can participate in dismantling those systems.
These past weeks, we collectively mourned the accumulated death of too many Black souls taken by the racist police system. We honor the lives and legacy of Nina Pop, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Charleena Lyles, and those who didn’t make headlines. While we were writing this email, we lost more beautiful humans. We ask you to say the names of these three too many: Oluwatoyin Salau, a young Black activist, and Dominique Fells and Riah Milton, two Black trans womxn whose lights were too powerful for people to handle. We chant #BlackLivesMatter again and again, and we continue fighting the generations-old white supremacist state and amplifying the demands of young Black folks in our community as we collectively re-imagine and build anti-racist ways of relating.
As a non-profit, we acknowledge the historical racial trauma induced by the non-profit industrial complex, and we strive to recognize and dismantle our complicity in systemic racism and anti-Blackness. Here are our commitments:
We commit to Black self-determination by continuing to provide brave and radical spaces where Black and brown girls* can learn to name the systems that weren’t built for them and to use our resources as adults to manifest their needs and demands.
We commit to Black liberation by continuing the necessary internal work around unlearning and rectifying institutionalized anti-Blackness within our organization.
We commit to Black power by aligning ourselves more explicitly with Black-led campaigns and calls and urging our community to do the same.
Here are some of those calls both locally and nationally:
Learn about Transformative Justice. Community solutions to policing have existed.
End the Contract between SPS and SPD. The young folks and adult organizers at FEEST, WA-BLOC, and Black and Brown Minds Matter are saying #StudentsHaveHadEnough. Let’s move towards ending the school to prison pipeline and get cops out of schools. (On June 24, 2020, this passed!)
Defund and Demilitarize the SPD. Our city’s police budget is higher than our education deficit. Instead, invest in social services by and for the people.
Defund the Police Nationally. We echo the call for radical, sustainable solutions that affirm the prosperity of Black lives.
Interrogate your Misogynoir. In order to authentically lift up Black girls* and womxn, we must do our own internal work.
We are also happy to offer our Powerful Packet online, which was originally a tool for girls* of color in navigating COVID-19, for the healing and processing of young Black folks and adults.
As an organization that predominantly serves young Black folx, this work is not new to us. We continue to provide spaces for Black voices. We prioritize their reflection, connection, action, and healing in this moment as one of our contributions to Black liberation. An anti-racist world free of anti-blackness is worth striving for. We need people power of all forms in the movement. Let’s all do our part.
In solidarity with the #MovementForBlackLives,
The Powerful Voices staff