Dear PA members and friends,

In July, we wrote to you with a call for reflection and action in response to the killings of people of color at the hands of police across the country. This week, we are mourning the killing of Keith Scott by a police officer and the killing of a black man protesting Mr. Scott's death.  We are also standing in solidarity with our neighbors and family in Charlotte who are protesting a long history of injustice in the city and across our state and nation; and we join them in calling for transparency, accountability, and justice -- three things that have been in short supply when it comes to the killing of black men by police.

We are writing to you again today because to be silent in this time of violence against people of color is to condone and perpetuate the systems that allowed Keith Scott to be killed in Charlotte two days ago and for hundreds of others across the country to have died at the hands of police. 

You are a member of People's Alliance because you believe in local, progressive action that will help advance a Durham where all people can live well. We have a choice - both as individuals, and as People's Alliance - about how how we will work to pursue our vision at this critical moment.

As the Board of People's Alliance, we have a responsibility to organize progressives, and our predominately white membership, in explicitly anti-racist work. When we wrote to you earlier in the summer, we announced that one piece of this work for us is organizing a series of living room conversations (LRCs) about a range of topics related to race equity in Durham. We created these LRCs as a space for us to come together to learn, reflect, and take action toward creating a more just and equitable Durham. These conversations will be getting underway in the next couple of weeks but there is still room to participate; click here to view the different topics and sign-up for one.

As individuals, we also have a choice about how we will each work to dismantle systemic racism. This may look like reading and broadcasting the news as reported by people of color, providing financial support to organizing efforts or physically showing up to protest. For white people, this may also mean having difficult conversations with friends and family about how theybenefit from systemic racism.

We hope that you will join us in speaking up and showing up for black lives.

With love and hope for greater justice,

People's Alliance Board

Vernetta Alston, Eric Boven, John Davis, Kendra Montgomery-Blinn, DeDreana Freeman, Dabney Hopkins, Marion Johnson, Destini Riley, Carl Rist, Lanya Shapiro, Ryan Smith, Sondra Stein, Sara Terry, Magan Thigpen, Tommie Watson