Words do not capture the immeasurable pain of this last week. We witnessed the brutal murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, while three other officers looked away and witnesses cried for help and an end to the brutality. And we lost over 100,000 lives in our country to COVID-19, with a disproportionate percentage of deaths in the African American community.

YWCA Glendale joins with over 200 YWCAs across the country, united to answer the cry for justice, peace, and dignity for all. We will continue to call for dismantling systemic racism and equal protection and opportunity under the law through our education and advocacy work.

We invite you to be a part of this work – our work as a community and the work that is required of us all, as individuals. We are at a turning point. We must ask ourselves, how do we want to emerge from this moment? What is our vision for a more equitable society? How do we build bridges? Can we sit with the discomfort of this moment so we can open our hearts and our minds to the deep and historical pain of communities who have been brutalized for so long? Do we have the courage to hold those in power accountable for their wrongs? How do we foster empathy and connection? Will we continue to look away from injustice? What does it mean to be an ally at this moment? How will we create welcoming spaces and opportunities to heal?

The great Angela Davis once said, in a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must commit to be anti-racist. I’m asking Glendale to make that commitment. We are here to do this difficult work with you. This is our moment to step into our leadership and our collective humanity to create a Glendale where every member is valued and has the opportunity to thrive. Now is our time to dedicate ourselves to the work of eliminating racism. We invite you to join with us in holding and having necessary and hard conversations that move us forward. We invite you to join us for our upcoming series of virtual conversations on June 11th with our 2020 Legacy Luncheon Honorees and we invite you to the community vigil at Glendale City Hall, 613 E Broadway, Glendale, at 6PM on June 7th to process our collective grief. As a 95-year old community organization dedicated to eliminating racism and empowering women, we invite you to lean on us and to partner with us to build the equitable world we all deserve and envision.

PRESS CONTACT: Heather Masterton
E-MAIL: heathermasterton@ywcagp.org