The acts of terror in Charlottesville this weekend are sinful and the direct result of white superiority, power, and control in our country. We add our voice to the chorus of justice-seekers and faith communities decrying, condemning, and actively working to dismantle white supremacy. During these challenging times in our country, we thank you for being part of the network of justice-seekers who make up our NETWORK community.

From our founding, NETWORK has sought to be a multicultural, anti-racist organization. But it is one thing to say we are committed to racial justice, and another thing to live it out: to do the work to dismantle white supremacy in our culture and in our federal policies. Throughout our history, but even more so over the past several years, we have worked to interweave our commitment to racial justice into all of our work – from our organizational culture to the policy issues we work on.

Some changes in our society can happen right away, but the long-term change we seek is not something that is fixed easily or all at once. As NETWORK has worked to renew and strengthen our commitment to racial justice, we’ve implemented changes to how we do our work – changes that will make us a more inclusive organization, better equipped to do the work of racial justice.

Today, we share and recommit ourselves to NETWORK’s pledge to be an anti-racist organization, inclusive in our actions and in our organizational identity, structure, and membership. We do so, because:

• We believe in and espouse Gospel values that reflect the dignity and sanctity of every human being;
• We recognize and celebrate the richness of the differences that exist among the peoples and cultures of our country and our world, while definitively affirming how much we have in common; and
• We acknowledge our moral responsibility to witness to the truth that we are all one human family, made in the image of the Creator.

This is not new for NETWORK nor is it just a stock response to current events. This is a journey that we are on together — one that we look forward to sharing with you in the months and years to come.