Now Is The Time

Forlorn!

Each time a black male is tragically killed by the hands of those who are sworn to protect and serve, my heart breaks. But the murder of George Floyd stings just a little bit harder!  I know many of our hearts are collectively broken be us black, white, brown or any other shade. The video footage is devastating and horrific. We have seen a complete lack of humanity and injustice happen in front of our very eyes. 

In a state that espouses Midwestern and Minnesotan values, we have failed.  The ones we have failed the most are our children. We have not only failed our children by the lack of humanity we have seen in our community, but also in our schools by the lack of high-quality equitable education and opportunities for our black and brown kids to truly thrive.  

How do we make students feel loved, safe, and valued, especially during an unprecedented time of a worldwide pandemic and now, a local tragedy that is entrenched in racial tension? 

How are we going to create a better system, not a ‘back to normal’ or even a ‘new normal’ for our kids? 

When we say that each and every life has inherent worth and value, we must mean it, with our words, our mindsets, and most importantly, with our actions!  

As Executive Director of Equity Alliance Minnesota (EA-MN), it has become abundantly clear that NOW is the time for change in our educational systems and beyond! We have been only talking about this for far too long! Now is the time we can make substantial changes to our systems and structures that have negatively impacted the students and families that need us the most.  Now is the time we can reimagine the possibilities of how we want to shape the future of our children.

This is OUR work!  This is our time, together, our collective call to action is to be an alliance for equity and make a better tomorrow for all of us!