Members, Partners, and Friends:
The death of George Floyd has brought many issues to a head. We too are outraged. Because another black man was murdered in broad daylight. Because our country militarizes police and criminalizes poverty. Because others stood by while George could not breathe. The U.S. has a history of institutionalized racism, police brutality, and injustice for Black and Brown Americans. We stand in solidarity with those demanding systemic change.
We recognize that PSI is a historically white-led organization and we are actively reflecting on our privileged position and striving to be proactively anti-racist in our policies, practices, and work culture.
Many of the same beliefs, practices, and systems that create and perpetuate white supremacy also create and perpetuate environmental destruction. After we consume products, our waste is trucked, transferred, landfilled, and burned in predominantly low-income communities of color. And while we all experience the impacts of climate change, the companies that benefit from the use of fossil fuels continue to profit while already vulnerable communities continue to shoulder the greatest burdens from rising temperatures and sea levels and pollution. Indeed, the U.S. economy was founded on genocide and slavery and continues to benefit from oppression today. PSI is committed to doing better.
- We will engage our staff, board, members, and partners in difficult conversations to better understand the deep pain and suffering of those impacted by racism.
- We will re-examine our work and the way we operate both internally and externally to address racial inequities by incorporating racial, economic, and environmental justice into our core work - starting with our human resources, communications, and stakeholder engagement practices.
- We will embrace our responsibility as conveners and facilitators to incorporate equity and justice for people of color into our facilitated dialogues and our work.
PSI will strive to bring humility and compassion to how we treat ourselves and each other on this journey. This work can be hard, messy, and painful, but we refuse to let perfectionism, guilt, or discomfort distract us from the actions we need to take -- there is no environmental justice without racial and economic justice.
Restructuring the pillars of our economy so that producers are held accountable for their products is a step toward addressing economic justice. But until we directly address racial justice, both internally amongst ourselves and externally with our members and partners, we cannot fully achieve our mission.
In Solidarity,
Scott, Amanda, Suna, Sydney, Rachel, Josh, and Susan
