By anonymous donor

Over the past few years, I found myself searching for ways that I could respond to the issues of racial inequity. We have been bombarded with news stories that invariably end with the words, “disproportionately impacting Black Americans.” Blacks are three times more likely to die of COVID and have experienced a decrease of three years in life expectancy compared to one year for whites. Blacks have an unemployment rate twice as high as that of whites. Police violence is now the leading cause of death for young Black men. Black men are six times more likely to be arrested, convicted and given long sentences than whites. Black women are three times more likely than whites to die in childbirth. Estimates of the unrecompensed financial value of Black work to build this county range from $14 to $95 trillion and, despite the vast magnitude of this contribution, Black wealth today is one tenth the wealth of whites.

Are we becoming numb to the statistics?

During COVID, I have been reading books and articles that traced the 250 years of African enslavement (170 of those years before the United States was even a county), the short eleven years of Reconstruction in which federal troops provided protection to allow Black businesses and agriculture to grow, the years following federal withdrawal from the South and the ensuing violence of Jim Crow, and the last 100 years of deliberate restrictive policies and practices that have caused and codified housing segregation, adverse environmental impact, lack of educational opportunity, disparities in health status, and dramatic inequities in the justice system. I have been able to more fully understand that the treatment of Blacks has not been a “blip” in our country’s history but its very foundation.

So, what can one person do? Do I work for national policies that address these systemic failures? Of course, but that did not seem enough. I felt the need to play a personal role in redressing these wrongs. The FRF has offered a tangible vehicle for impacting real people in my own community. My monthly contribution is a priority for me now.

If you want to join us in this essential endeavor and assure that this Fund remains a vital resource in our community:

• Go to the Freedom Recovery Fund link on the Project Neighbors website (projectneighbors.org) and click “donate,” or
• Communicate with Kate Gong at Project Neighbors and indicate your interest in donating to the FRF, either as a one-time or monthly contribution.

PROJECT NEIGHBORS

454 College Ave.

Valparaiso, IN 46383

219-465-3131

info@projectneighbors.org