UNITY STATEMENT
Updated November 2024 -
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Regardless of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court's controversial decision scaling back Affirmative Action in education and their support striking down racist gerrymandering in select states due to the impacts it has on minority communities, CBAC continues to stand together with the Black/African-American community and supports ongoing efforts to end racial injustice and inequities. We also continue to stand together with the Asian & Pacific Islander communities and other members of the BIPOC (Black Indigenous Persons of Color) and other non-majority populations and communities, who also continue to experience inequitable treatment due to systemic racism, and conscious and unconscious bias.
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Three years after his death, we continue to be heartbroken by the horrible, unjustifiable death of George Floyd, the loss of Breonna Taylor, and countless others who died before and since then, as well as the devastation faced by their families, communities, and our nation. Their deaths cannot be allowed to be in vain. Additionally, we continue to denounce incidences of anti-Asian and anti-LGBTQIA+ violence and reaffirm our commitment, in words and deeds, to be allies to members of all non-majority communities and populations seeking to exist, survive, thrive, and succeed in accordance with our mission.
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As Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. said, "There comes a time when silence is betrayal," and, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." As individuals and as an organization, we continue to have difficult conversations about systemic racism and non-racist beliefs and actions, internally and externally. While we have always had these conversations on some levels, the past three years have shown us that we must continue to encourage, if not mandate, the need for even more thoughtful discussions for a better understanding to end systemic racism and bias in our country and the actions necessary to contribute to that end.
These difficult conversations must continue in a way that leads to action in the form of authentic, systemic change that unites us all. We must all strive to speak up and act against racist comments and behaviors whenever they occur. We must also actively ensure our practices match our words. As Dr. King further said, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Dr. King further noted, "Only when it's dark enough, can you see the stars."
CBAC believes that four years later we are still at the point of significant change, which will benefit all of us as human beings. We are also at a troubling time in our history as improvements made in recent years are being reversed. We proudly choose and remain dedicated to our mission to serve small businesses, especially those owned by women, minorities, veterans, LGBTQ+, and disabled/differently-abled people, and the communities they enrich with their entrepreneurial spirit and the services they provide to all of us. We also continue to join other CDFIs, industry partners, and all organizations and individuals who believe in and support equitable opportunities for all people in affirming our commitment to social justice.