Lucy Daniels Center Stands Against Racism

By Trevor Osterhaus |

June 08, 2020 |

News

Dear Lucy Daniels Center Community, Friends, and Colleagues,

We are grieved by the recent killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and stand firmly against all forms of systemic racism and the injustices that make our world less safe for people of color.

Racism is toxic to children and their emotional health. Research shows a strong association between experiences of racism and children struggling with anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues, along with a host of other poor health outcomes . Black children often have less access to mental health care and are more often placed on strong psychotropic medications with severe side-effects, as compared to their white peers.

As an organization committed to helping children lead emotionally health lives, it is our duty to not only condemn, but also confront the racism that creates such disparity in the mental and emotional health of children of color. We must speak out, and act, to challenge the systems that have made black children more likely to experience negative health outcomes, and less likely to receive needed help.

At LDC, we will continue to stand for the emotional health for every child, and to us, that means actively seeking to challenge our own implicit biases, listening well to the lived experiences of people of color, and using our voices to defend against the pervasive and destructive impact of racism in our community and society.

As first steps in these processes, we pledge to take the following actions:

We will ensure each staff member is given opportunity and accountability to examine our own biases, through trainings and intentional discussion, allowing us each to combat racism within and outside our work with children and families.

We will regularly examine our own organizational policies and procedures, to ensure they are inclusive of people of color.

We will actively seek out and listen to voices of people of color. We will do the work to educate ourselves, and to lean into the uncomfortable spaces where we could do better.

For the black members of our community: we see you and we stand with you. We look forward to engaging in this work alongside you, for as long as it takes.

Sincerely,