Area Foundation Statement on Racial Injustice and Equitable Opportunities
We join with community in San Antonio, across Texas, and throughout the country, in grieving the horrific killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and the countless others.
The intensity of the anger and grief that Americans are expressing in the wake of these most recent killings, is the boiled over expression of a real pain, fear and hopelessness that is experienced by far too many.
The events have exposed American wounds that are many generations deep, enormously painful, and often paralyzing for millions. We have been reminded that these wounds, rooted in our nation’s history of racial injustice, are far from healed.
We stand with our community, especially the African American community, in declaring that we must work harder for justice, decrying systematic racism in policing and society, to ensure that the promise of our beautiful American dream is accessible to all.
We commit ourselves to engaging, listening, and living our values more fully by using our collective influence to help create a San Antonio where who you are or where you come from no longer predicts your life outcomes; and one, where we all share equitable opportunities to live and thrive, and to feel safe.
Because we want our support to be more than a quickly drawn plan, we are taking time to continue to listen to and be informed by community leaders and local data.
We are committed to action that will contribute to meaningful and durable change in our community.
Failure is not an option—a better future for our community, our children and grandchildren will be the measure of our success.