Dear Members,

Like you, my family and I have been distressed with the events of the past weeks – events that clearly indicate the work of equity and inclusion is more important than ever. The murder of George Floyd adds another name to the heartbreakingly long list of men and women of color who have been killed by insitutional racism. The images, videos, and social media posts following this most recent example are devastating.

We are ashamed of the injustices that are perpetrated in our country, every day, against people of color. These injustices paired with the ravages COVID-19 is making disproportionately in the African American community serve as a wake-up call that we, as an organization and as members of society, take very seriously. We do not want to continue to be complicit by leaving our privilege and our blindspots unexamined.

The vision and mission of the Rochester Women's Network drives us to support and promote diversity and inclusion in all that we do. It is no coincidence that at the beginning of 2020 RWN launched a new Diversity and Inclusion committee to be intentional about carrying that work through all of our committees, SIGs, and events.

Now, we need to immediately turn outward to add our voices to the conversations happening locally and nationally.

Here are some of the things that RWN will be doing:

1. Sharing on social media resources you can use to educate yourself to help increase equity and actively fight racism.
2. Working with our Diversity and Inclusion committee to ensure that diversity and equity underpin the activities of our committees, SIGs, programs, and community service events.
3. Fast-tracking our plans to connect with local organizations that support underserved people, particularly women of color, with the goal of providing complimentary one-year memberships and/or mentorship. (Please let us know if you would like to nominate a person or organization.)

We will be listening, learning, and acting in hopes of continually adding to this list.

Lastly, thank you for your patience while we gathered our thoughts so that we could mindfully communicate with you. RWN is primarily volunteer-led; we have admittedly all been stricken with inaction as we watched these most recent events unfold. The time to add our voices to anti-racism efforts is long overdue, but we are ready to work. I hope you will join us in doing so.

Thank you,,

Megan Flanagan Mills, President of Rochester Women’s Network