As an organization deeply committed to the tenets of racial and social justice, Equal Measure stands arm-in-arm with all who boldly advocate the virtues of equitable communities. We believe that societies flourish when we have the collective strength to embrace tolerance, condemn bigotry in every form, and advocate with passion for systemic changes that will uproot embedded hatreds and illuminate opportunity for all.

With the killing of George Floyd fueling justified anger, emotion, and tears here in Philadelphia, along with many communities across the country, we believe that now is not the occasion for silence; nor must we simply move on. Rather, we must proclaim loudly, with sustained voices of compassion and reason, that now is the time to act—and to do so in ways that lead to constructive and lasting change.

As we condemn the murder of Mr. Floyd—with clear-eyed acknowledgement of the many instances of racial injustice that have preceded and even informed these troubling events—we must use this time to reflect on how we can apply our knowledge to eradicate inequities and build systems that are just and inclusive. The stark economic and health disparities revealed in full during the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbate the need for action.

Equal Measure will hold itself accountable to this imperative, and we call on our colleagues, partners, and clients to do so as well. As we know that change will not happen overnight, and as we contemplate how to face the pain we feel today, we take solace in the words of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr, writing in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

It is that network of mutuality that binds our sector and our nation together in collective responsibility.

—The Equal Measure Team