Black Lives Matter

A Statement from the Staff of the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning

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We, the staff of the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning, condemn the murders of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many more Black lives because of inhumane and racist actions by police officers and other white individuals. 

As an organization, we have been silent and complicit in perpetuating racism and white supremacy through our actions and our inactions. We are complicit in the deaths of Black women, men, children, queer and trans folx (1) through our inaction and silence. This is unacceptable.

We acknowledge that we have acted as the White Savior (2). We’ve long celebrated our work of “serving low income families,” yet we’ve failed to create an organization where Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color are represented.  We are a white organization, and we understand  that this works against our interest in serving Black (3) students, Indigenous students, and students of color.

We hereby commit to the following:

• As leaders, teachers, and staff of the Cooper Center, we will individually and collectively work to understand our complicity in systemic racism and the responsibility and power we hold to dismantle it.

• We will listen to and follow the guidance of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color.

• We recognize that we have blind spots. If you wish to share feedback with us on our work, on this letter, or an experience you have had at the Cooper Center, please contact us.

• We will craft a plan to directly address the structure of our organization with regards to recruiting, hiring and the very nature of our programs to ensure that we are not perpetuating a racist system through ignorance.

• We commit to expanding our environmental education to include educating ourselves and our students on social justice and environmental justice for People of Color. 

• We will provide regular updates in our email newsletters to identify actions we are taking toward this end.

• We will no longer be silent. We will call out racist words and actions when we see and hear them. We acknowledge the systemic privilege that we as white people benefit from and will actively work to dismantle it. We will engage with Black and Brown communities in an authentic way and listen to their needs instead of pushing our goals onto them. And, we hope that you will join us on this challenging journey. It is long overdue.

Signed,

Colin Waite, Director

Paige Humphrey, Educator

Mariah Kuehl, Educator

Brittne MacCleary, Educator

Ryan Biggs, Educator

Nate Byerley, Communications