The devastating effects of structural and systemic racism and health inequities have been exposed. We cannot and should not look away. Our members and our community are heartbroken, and we are with them.

We will remember their names – George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, and devastatingly too many more.

The number of deaths for individuals of color from COVID-19 also continues to rise at a disproportionate rate.

For the past 104 years, the Junior League of Milwaukee members have been community builders, and it is critical for us to be engaged in this moment. We will build, learn, grow and stand with our community partners in the shared quest for real and meaningful positive community change and, guided by our shared values of respect, service, and leadership, be grounded in an authentic and abiding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

We are catalysts for lasting community change, which is desperately needed right now.

We welcome all who stand with us.