We mourn the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the others whose lives have been taken by police violence.
We condemn these acts and stand in solidarity with those grieving and demanding justice for all Black Americans.
These tragedies underscore the long-standing history of police brutality against Black and Brown communities. It is a symptom of racism that denies people of color the right to live and to live with safety. Our work is guided by the reality that homelessness and housing instability are two such symptoms. They are inextricably bound to historical and contemporary racism that continue to disproportionately impact people of color. These issues require nothing short of accountability and elimination.
“The racism that pervades our country’s systems, our communities, and each of us urgently demands such real, lasting solutions. “
Our organization works to end homelessness because our hope for a just society is at stake. We work in the service of lasting solutions because that is the only option in the face of inequity. The racism that pervades our country’s systems, our communities, and each of us urgently demands such real, lasting solutions.
We know that there is more we can and must do. We recognize that we are an organization largely led by White people, and that we must continue our journey to fully realizing diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we go forward, Built for Zero will be committed to taking shared accountability for racial equity in our local homelessness response systems and the upstream systems that plunge people into them. We are re-committing ourselves to the work of undoing racism, to supporting the builders around the country pursuing justice and equality, and answering the calls to action from the Black leaders in our sector.
To close, we’d like to ask you to join us in reading, reflecting on, and lifting up the powerful voices of two of those leaders:
- Amanda Andere, Funders Together To End Homelessness: Statement on the Continuous Killing of Black People, White Supremacy, and Anti-Blackness
- Marc Dones, National Innovation Service : A Letter from Marc Dones On the Necessity of Black Futures
