With Liberty & Justice for All
Committing to Listening Better, Asking More, and Championing Change
Friday was Juneteenth, an annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the US. It has been celebrated by Black Americans since the late 1800s, and now provides a great opportunity to reflect on what it means to be free in America. What should liberty & justice for all look like and why haven't we been able to achieve it?
At MaineShare, we support our member groups, many of whom have been asking this question for a long time and many of us who are still trying to figure out how we unwittingly may be obstacles to progress because we haven't been asking enough questions.
Here is what we are learning from some of our amazing member groups:
ProsperityMaine
works with new immigrants to navigate all the essential components of building economic success in our country. In their latest newsletter, they acknowledge, “Yet when you examine each of these essential components, they are deeply impacted by the structural racism that prevents the American Dream from fully manifesting for People of Color.” They are committing to work with their many partners to dismantle systemic racism in the delivery of financial services.
Consumers for Affordable Health Advocates
for the right to quality, affordable health care for every person in Maine. Understanding that Black Mainers are 10 times more likely to have COVID-19 than White Mainers and that their financial well-being has also been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, they are amping up their
health equity work
and have launched
a series of workshops
aimed at helping people who no longer have workplace health coverage.
Maine Equal Justice
works to target and shrink disparities through policy change and as they state, “
Maine can be a place where communities of color have an equal chance to get ahead, but only if we come together to target disparities and work to correct unjust policies and eliminate barriers to success.
”
Check out MEJ's equity work
.
This is just a small sampling of the critical work MaineShare members do to promote liberty and justice for all. Please join us in supporting and learning from the great work of
ALL our member groups
.
In Solidarity,
The Board and Staff of MaineShare