AJL Foundation stands by the Black community in the fight against racism, and would like to call out anti-Black racism specifically. We mourn the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Nina Pop and the unfathomably tragic loss of countless lives in Black, Indigenous and communities of color to centuries of racism and injustice. This is America's history. This is America's present.

AJL's mission is to support and invest in Colorado's families and youth, and as has been tragically validated over and over again, it is our families and youth of color who disproportionately face the consequences of social injustice in every single aspect of their lives. If we are truly dedicated to Colorado families and youth, then we are, at heart and at the root, fighting racial, economic and environmental injustice. 

We also recognize that as a private foundation, we, like America's policing system, have choices and very little accountability to the results of our choices. We can philanthropy-as-usual, and continue to perpetuate racial, economic and environmental injustice by supporting systems of white supremacy. Or we can take responsibility for justice in our corner of the world using all of the unearned privilege, power and resources we have. 

We choose the latter. Here are the steps we are taking:

We stand with the communities we serve, and in the spirit of partnership, learning and accountability, we welcome any feedback, ideas, criticism or suggestions that will help us to better serve you. We are committed to doing our part so that injustice is not also America's future. 

Please feel free to reach out to Kristi Petrie at kpetrie@ajlfoundation.org or Dianne Myles at dmyles@ajlfoundation.org.