BLACK LIVES MATTER
June 19th, 2020
To our Live Love family:
Today is Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating emancipation in the United States. It is a day to celebrate the end of slavery, but also to reflect upon hundreds of years of exploitation of Black people in the United States. The legacy of slavery and ongoing systems of oppression are deeply damaging to Black members of our community, and we must not be complacent about this if we wish to see change.
Like many of you, our team has spent the last few weeks reflecting deeply on systemic racism in the United States and thinking about how our actions contribute to continued racial inequality. We have also been identifying steps we can take to work alongside animal lovers who reflect the diversity of our community in Long Beach.
As Live Love Animal Rescue’s leadership team, we are coming to all of you with our desire to do more. Here are some steps we are taking right now:
- We are making social consciousness a top priority when selecting our vendors for upcoming events. We are pursuing relationships with local businesses that are owned by our Black neighbors and by people of color in our community.
- We recognize an urgent need to create an environment in which people of all backgrounds feel welcomed as leaders and partners in our shared goals, and we vow to make it an ongoing priority to ensure that we value their voices. Our current board (comprised of five White women) does not reflect the diversity of Long Beach. As we plan our transition to a new Advisory Board later in 2020, we are talking to a wide range of supporters, fosters, and adopters to identify members who more accurately reflect the diversity of our community.
- We extend our compassion to humans as well as animals. We believe that most people want to provide a loving, safe home for their pet. Further, we believe that race, income, and nationality should not be barriers to keeping an animal with the family that loves them. That’s why we reunite families with found animals when possible, with a focus on ensuring they have the resources they need to keep their furry family members healthy and safe.
We are grateful that so many in our Live Love family are speaking out to say that Black lives matter. We are listening, we are taking action, and we are committed to growing together in order to ensure that every animal lover has a seat at our table. Thank you for growing with us as we all work together toward a better future for Long Beach.
