Posted 5 years ago in Trending
1 MIN READ - The past three months have presented unimaginable challenges for the Loop community, but we know your resilience and ingenuity will create a stronger Loop than ever.
We know that rebuilding after the damage done in the Loop at the end of May doesn't begin to compare to rebuilding from hundreds of years of oppression and injustice. The root cause of what we're seeing is a history of systemic racism compounded by regular acts of violence and killing of Black people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless other victims.
Chicago Loop Alliance is reassessing how we can better improve conditions for Black people in our community and beyond. We have begun discussions with staff and our board's Executive Committee, which will continue into mid-June and result in action items and systemic changes within our organization. We look forward to sharing more details as we begin this work, and we intend to act as a resource for those in the business community who seek to engage in not just neutrality or the status quo, but a true commitment to being anti-racist.
In addition to examining what we can do internally, we continue to urge our elected officials at the local, state, and national levels to listen to the people being impacted by this. We need our congressional delegation to begin an honest national discussion on racism, inequity, and police brutality, including the voices of Black Lives Matter organizers and others in the realm of social justice, and then lay out an actionable plan that will address these problems that we’ve seen unfold for far too long.
CLA plans to begin our efforts by striving to highlight and support diverse voices in the Loop. Join us in recognizing Black business owners and business leaders in the Loop. Share businesses, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and more with us by emailing info@chicagoloopalliance.com.
Our work continues. This is just the beginning.
