Unity & Hope

On Tuesday of this week, there were 30 million posts on Instagram with the hashtag #blackouttuesday, an encouraging display of solidarity in the midst of much division. We’ve also of course witnessed plenty of unrest & turmoil over the past ten days which we know amplified an already challenging and unsettled environment for many of our communities.

Injustice in general and racial injustice in particular is a complex issue and there are many facets to the events of the last ten days. We don’t pretend to have answers and see no other way than to approach this with plenty of humility. We, along with many others, are learning to really see how much long-standing injustice continues for the Black community. We are hoping to find ways for each of us to better stand with them in this. And although we may not have the exact right words to say, we felt compelled to say something. We are in this together and recognize that staying silent and not engaging can be part of the problem.

We’ve often defined Optimism as a well-grounded hope in a brighter future. We are firmly hanging on to that hope, knowing that progress of all kinds often lies on the other side of challenge and difficulty.