Black Lives Matter – SA&M’s Commitment to Community and Change
Words inadequately express the profound outrage we at Stubbs Alderton & Markiles feel regarding the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. In the context of the now tragically familiar list of Black men and women, and other people of color, who have recently lost their lives at the hands of certain members of groups sworn to protect and serve, his death requires us all to consider our role as catalysts for change.
In response to the anger, frustration, fear and desire for meaningful transformation provoked by these tragedies, a diverse coalition of Americans have exercised their first amendment rights peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. We add our collective voice to the chorus lawfully and non-violently demanding accountability, justice and institutional change.
We empathize with the grief and suffering of the Black community and offer our condolences to the families of the victims of racial violence. While we cannot, nor do we pretend to, fully grasp the magnitude of the challenges people of color face on a daily basis in our society, we cannot ignore the root cause of these challenges – institutional racism and personal discrimination.
Accordingly, with complete resolve, we:
- commit to take action by donating funds, dedicating time and utilizing other resources at our disposal to support individuals and organizations working to remedy the legacy of racism in our country;
- encourage the members of the SAM family and our broader community to proactively advocate, through active listening and dialogue, and through express action, for the rights of communities of color to promote observable institutional change; and
- most importantly, unequivocally affirm that Black lives do matter.
We acknowledge that change will neither be swift nor easy, but we pledge to do our part and to hold ourselves accountable to our commitments.