No peace without racial justice

We feel like this is important to say right now: There can be no true peace in a world where Black lives are devalued and Black voices are not respected. Reaffirming that Black lives matter is an act of love. It is an act of caring for each other. The struggle against racism is a struggle against violence—not just overt acts of brutality, but also structural violence: the often invisible societal structures that cause harm, apply justice unequally, and prevent people from meeting basic needs.

The damaging ideology of white supremacy still seeps into far too many aspects of our society. It results in ongoing violence against Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color, a reality that is coming into ever sharper focus. This has been exposed by the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus. It broke to the surface again in the recent police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many more. If we accept inequality or racism as inevitable, true peace is not possible.

Karuna Center is dedicated to reducing violence in all its forms. In our U.S. initiatives, we prioritize using our dialogue expertise to help difficult conversations take place, and these aim to privilege the narratives of people of color and support racial justice. When we say that racism permeates society: that includes our patterns of thinking, often unconsciously. We understand that we have a long way to go in addressing racism throughout our work. As a majority-white-run organization based in the U.S, we believe that now is a time for white people to listen closely to Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. We believe it is up to all of us to challenge injustice, and by doing so, to help build a just peace.

We encourage you to extend your circles of support to include racial justice efforts. (Many of you already do!)

Being supportive is about more than money. It’s important to stand up for initiatives in our own communities for police accountability and against racism. If you can make a gift, and don’t know where to, here are a few ideas:

Black Visions Collective (Minnesota) is centered in healing & transformative justice, believing in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.

Arise for Social Justice (located near Karuna Center’s home office) is a member-led community organization dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of poor people, including work for police accountability.

The National Bail Fund Network is made up of over sixty community bail and bond funds across the country. it is currently prioritizing distributing bail for protest support across the Network.

An additional way to provide ongoing support during these difficult times is by giving to and/or participating in a mutual aid network that is lifting up people impacted by systemic injustice.

(We did not compile the list below; just passing the resource on.)