Throughout our nation’s history, communities of color have survived violence and discrimination, financial exploitation and disinvestment, and toxic dumping and environmental degradation, making a way from no way.
Communities of color are not only the most impacted: They are experts in understanding the problems and creating collective solutions to address them.
Robust government investment in communities must facilitate health, well-being, education, social connections, and economic opportunity for everyone. Instead, racial inequity invisibilizes communities living on the margins of society and excludes millions from opportunities for community leadership and economic justice.
Our democracy has systematically incentivized underinvestment and disinvestment in Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and low-wealth communities. The path towards healing and justice must start with building power across low-wealth and Black, Indigenous, People of Color communities first.
It’s time to adopt, respect, and resource community-led vision and plans. It’s time to put communities first to repair past harms, reshape the present, and move with conviction toward a just and well world for generations to come. It’s time for us to ask ourselves, in whatever role we hold: Do we commit to centering community leadership, innovation, and priorities in everything we do?