It’s hard to truly understand another’s experience without walking in his or her shoes, but we each have control over our own attitudes, words and behavior.
Changing generationally embedded mindsets and beliefs doesn’t happen overnight, but change is possible and starts with each of us.
While large-scale socio-economic and civil rights reforms are necessary, true change takes hold at an individual level and ripples outward from there.
How each of us thinks, speaks, acts and educates our youth on a day-to-day basis makes a difference. Daily interactions matter for equality and humanity.
Change starts with each of us at a personal level.
We are committed to racial equality. Further, we call all members to be active participants in equality and social justice. Mistreatment of the black community and communities of color will not be tolerated. Silence perpetuates injustice, so we’re joining this moment in history with our voice, and we will continue to support the movement toward racial equality.
A statement alone does little, it takes action to bear fruits. Active participation to overcoming systemic racism can happen in countless ways, many of them small and momentary. It might be as fleeting as a smile the releases tension, it might be as significant as setting aside racial biases in a critical decision. We call business leaders in our industry to join us in this shift, just as we call individual members to the same.
Together, our country can overcome systemic racism, and we maintain hope that together, we will.
Nanette Studebaker, Teeg Stouffer & Matthew Cox
Co-Founders | American Association of Event Professionals
