Not only will this year be forever remembered as the one where public health and the global economy was bought to its knees by a pandemic, it will also be remembered as one of immense social, political and cultural upheaval.
The Black Lives Matter movement and protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd, and numerous other black Americans, shook the USA and many countries across the world. The staff team here at WCC were moved and inspired by the powerful, peaceful demonstrations that swept the streets and with the subsequent reassessment of structural and institutionalised racism that is so evidently embedded across society and industry.
Like other organisations who were cognizant of this important process, we took the opportunity to look at our own practices and collaboratively wrote a statement and pledge. You can read it here.
As we look forward to 2021 and hopefully to a year of peace and progress it is essential that we do not lose sight of these instrumental moments and opportunities of change that are vital for the achievement of civil liberties and freedom for so many. We must continue to convert this energy and momentum into real, long-lasting change in our structures and institutions.
“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality”
Martin Luther King Jr.