Embrace Supports Communities of Color
In the midst of a national uprising and dialogue on state violence, Embrace adds their voices affirming the humanity and dignity of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). We share the global grief over the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery as well as the shootings of Jacob Blake, and the many other acts of racist violence perpetrated against Black people over the past 400 years in this country. Like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Emmett Till, they will not be forgotten.
As an anti-violence organization, Embrace cannot end one form of violence without addressing the other, and we cannot properly serve all survivors if we do not acknowledge and address the oppression and violence the most marginalized survivors are experiencing. Embrace does not support or advocate violence against anyone, even those who are accused of doing harm. Racism, police violence, sexual violence, and domestic violence all have the same root causes, and they interact and compound on each other both in society and within the survivors we serve. Intimate partner violence will not end if we silo it and ignore the other oppressions. If we put the most marginalized and oppressed person in our community at the center of our work and work toward their safety and liberation, it will necessitate the safety and liberation of everyone else too. We will not remain silent and neutral in the face of violence and oppression.
If we want to end intimate partner violence and sexual violence, we must grapple with our country’s long history of racism, slavery, genocide, and colonization. Racism and white supremacy are prevalent in our communities. Violence disproportionately affects our Communities of Color. Listening to the lived experiences of BIPOC survivors, colleagues, and community members, we recognize racial trauma and violence is a daily occurrence that directly impacts BIPOC and robs the rest of us of our humanity. We are committed to acknowledging these experiences. We understand we are consciously and unconsciously shaped by a culture deeply embedded with white supremacy. We know the burden lies with white allies to undo the violent system we live in and benefit from and that People of Color suffer the most in.
We are aware that our own anti-violence movement is not immune to enabling oppressive systems. We recognize the voices that have built and continue to build the philosophies that drive our work come from Black women, Indigenous women, and those with multiple marginalized identities who have been co-opted and silenced. Embrace is working toward change, both internally and externally. We will show our commitment by evaluating our internal policies and practices including our hiring practices and strengthening our anti-racist education, examining our external partnerships and using our network to inform others, as well as developing an explicit framework on “centering Survivors of Color” to guide our organization. Embrace hopes that People of Color in our community will view our spaces as increasingly safe and inclusive. We urge more community members, colleagues, and agency partners who work in all systems – judicial, law enforcement, education, health care, housing, social services – throughout our community to acknowledge the recurrent problem of racial biases, reimagine their roles, explore community-led solutions, and commit to being anti-racist through their actions and words. Feel this moment in history, listen, and do not look away. We cannot rely only on the continuation of past efforts to achieve these goals.
Embrace supports the movement for Black Lives. We will hear their words, lift up their voices, and stand in the anti-violence values of our organization. We hope you will join us in breaking the cycle of trauma created by racism and violence.
