Black lives matter.
Period. No questions asked.
Peace is Loud is in solidarity with the Black community, who deserve to live full and joyful lives without violence in the United States. The murders of Breonna Taylor, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, and George Floyd are part of a long history of how a country built on white supremacy allows violence against Black people. We demand an end to state-sanctioned brutality against Black people at the hands of police. We call for the U.S. government to reallocate police funding to community-based models of safety, support, and prevention.
Violence is physical. But it is also systemic in ways that serve those in power. Violence is also educational disparities, the housing crisis, unemployment, unequal distribution of wealth, lack of representation, mass incarceration, microaggressions — the list goes on. We use the word ‘systemic’ because the system is corrupt by design. Reform is not enough; these systems must be dismantled and abolished. We need to reimagine how justice can be served for all people in the United States.
We want to be as straightforward as possible in what these truths mean to a predominantly white-led organization:
- We have benefited and perpetuated from these systems. Because of that, we must become allies in destroying the systems that protect us.
- We have additional responsibility since racism is a problem created by white people, therefore it is ours to confront.
- We cannot say that peace is taking action towards a just world if we’re not explicitly dedicating ourselves to anti-racism inside and outside our offices.
By not addressing these truths we are perpetuating centuries of harm to the Black community. Real change takes time, but it needs to start immediately with concrete next steps. For Peace is Loud, that includes adjusting our hiring practices to bring Black women and women of color onto the team at all levels – especially leadership roles, prioritizing films by Black women filmmakers and women of color filmmakers, and investing in inclusion, equity, and accessibility education and implementation for the staff. These are only some of the ways we will work to rebalance power.
We take the responsibility of allyship seriously and invite you to reach out to us directly if you have questions or comments. We look forward to sharing with you how our work and solidarity will continue to evolve.
Peace is protecting Black lives.
Peace is abolishing the police.
Peace is dismantling white supremacy.