We at the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes are watching our community wake up to the fact that racism is real, systemic, and destroying lives. It is no longer enough to be not racist; we must work actively to be anti-racist. To quote Ibram X. Kendi, “Racial inequity is a problem of bad policy, not bad people.”
To that end, we will be learning from Black and Brown leaders in the Finger Lakes and beyond who are teaching us what changes are needed immediately while also working to build lasting systems with justice for all.
Our actions will include work at every level with an immediate focus on our grantmaking strategies and scholarship program. We can no longer perpetrate well-meaning but misguided concepts like “colorblindness.” Grant and scholarship awards can be life-changing, and it is up to us to make sure these tools reach the groups and people that need them the most.
Please join us as we add our voices to the growing protests demanding that people recognize Black lives matter. This weekend, we will be marching behind local leaders in Elmira, Corning, and the rest of the Finger Lakes, and we look forward to seeing you out there, too
