FLY’s Stand: Police Brutality & Systemic Violence Against Black People

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This time of crisis and opportunity reminds us that the bend in the arc referred to by Dr. King doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because we take action – we make the bend a reality.

As announced back in November, on July 1st Ali Knight will take the helm as FLY’s new CEO and Christa will move into a Founder role. In this powerful and important time in our country’s history and as caretakers of FLY’s past, present, and future, we felt it important to write to you together to affirm FLY’s commitment to help bend that arc away from racism, police violence, and injustice.

FLY is unequivocally and unambiguously pro-Black in this moment. We acknowledge and support Black people who have been killed, who have lost family members and friends, who live in fear for their lives and the lives of others, who are protesting and risking their own safety, and others in their communities who are affected by police brutality. We encourage you to read Ali’s personal perspective in this blog post.

While we acknowledge that all people of color and marginalized people are “fighting for air,” we are standing now in total solidarity with Black folks because police brutality disproportionately affects them and is a direct legacy of slavery.

We also recognize that as an organization we hold power and privilege that comes from 20 years of advocacy, systems partnership, and community work, which puts us in a unique position to press for change. To that end we intend to:

• Stand in clear support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Call out police brutality in all its forms and demand police do the work they are supposed to do to protect and serve.
• Demand justice and radical change in all systems that threaten Black lives and Black bodies.
• Call out anti-Blackness both in its overt forms and in microaggressions.

FLY is a critical part of efforts to advance justice and equity. Our communities, including our youth, really need our leadership now. As we rise to the occasion we will lean in deeply to help rebuild systems to be more effective, humane, and just.

And, every step of the way, as we have done since our founding, we will be guided by the voices of our youth and see them as the experts regarding their own experiences. Their voices, their needs, and their ideas will light the way.

We are grateful for your support, which makes our work possible.

Ali Knight
FLY’s Chief Operating Officer

Christa Gannon
FLY’s Founder & Chief Executive Officer