The college students of CityStep Harvard are raising money for three arts and social justice organizations—with a dollar-for-dollar match from their own coffers. Please read and support these orgs if you can. Then send your receipt to CityStep Harvard (citystep.harvard@gmail.com) so they can match it!Dear CityStep students, families, volunteers, and community members,
We write to express our solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and with Black Americans whose lives are impacted each day by the reality of police violence and institutional racism. These unjust and unequal structures have impacted dozens of communities in this past week alone; in particular, they have directly caused the murder of Mr. George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. In this time already made difficult by COVID-19 and its associated upheaval, we stand with Black artists, students, friends, and community members and affirm this basic, inarguable truth: Black Lives Matter.
CityStep’s mission is to encourage youth empowerment through arts and service. Throughout our history, we have steadfastly believed that self-expression without fear is the right of every individual, and we stand against anything that threatens this right. CityStep has been and always will be a safe space for students from all backgrounds, and in particular, for Black students, to express themselves freely and artistically.
This week has shown us that the true heroes in our community are those who value teamwork, self-expression, and solidarity, and those who have raised their voices in order to promote change. To support those who are using art and protest to build better communities, CityStep Harvard is pledging to donate to Reclaim the Block in Minneapolis, the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Boston, and the National Black Arts Festival based in Atlanta.
We encourage you to join us in supporting these organizations, which value community leadership and Black excellence in art and service. We will be matching donations from CityStep alumni and local community members to each organization up to $1000; we ask that you forward donation receipts to our Executive Board at citystep.harvard@gmail.com to be acknowledged as a donor.
Our responsibility to express care and enact change does not end this week. While recent events have brought these issues to the forefront, to see change happen, we must remain cognizant of institutionalized racism and have the courage to address it head-on in our daily lives.
Now more than ever, we strive to create a community of CitySteppers who are committed to and equipped with the skills necessary to become leaders in the movement towards equality and justice.
Forever in Solidarity and Ooh Ahh Love,
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