Chamber Statement on Social Injustice

As your Chamber, we are advocates for our community and each and every person in it. We have seen the social injustices that have taken place in our nation’s communities—especially in the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Elijah McClain, and countless others. We are an apolitical organization, yet racial injustice is an issue that affects all members of our community. Racial injustice is an issue that has plagued our nation for far too long. It is an issue that saddens and frustrates us. Too many people see their lives and their opportunities threatened by the color of their skin. As an organization that works towards a thriving community, we have no room or tolerance for racism and oppression towards our Black neighbors. The Chamber stands in solidarity with the Black community as well as peaceful protestors and human rights activists.

Our society has a lot of progress to make in terms of racial equality and eradicating systemic racism. Because the Chamber aims to support businesses, organizations and community leaders equally, we understand that we have a significant part in this fight for equality. We will continue to put effort into learning about matters so we can support and uplift our Black community members and foster economic development at the local level.

As we continuously reflect on our role in the fight against racism, we are actively taking steps to uplift and engage the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community from a leadership and membership perspective. As we look at leadership positions on our board, we are making a better effort to be more diverse and inclusive. We hope that as we continue to grow and learn as an organization, our community will hold us accountable for making meaningful changes towards equality.

We see you; we hear you; we stand with you.