Rising Up for a Shared Humanity

We are horrified by the murder of George Floyd and so many before him and are disturbed by the aggression police across the country and in the Valley are directing at protesters. Yet we’ve seen these tragedies play out too many times in our communities to be surprised: Dion Johnson killed by a, Arizona state trooper, Antonio Arce killed by a Tempe officer, Daniel Shaver killed by a Mesa officer and Michelle Cusseaux killed by a Phoenix officer to name a few.

It is long past time that our local leaders stop looking to law enforcement as the answer to the challenges our cities face: poverty, mental health, under-performing schools, homelessness, and the list goes on.

LISC was born out of the uprisings of the 1960s that led to the community reinvestment in the 1970s. We have always modeled and advocated for a community development approach that listens to and empowers residents.

In this moment of national reflection, we rededicate ourselves to lifting the voices and agency of Black, BIPOC, Latinx, Native, refugee, immigrant, undocumented and LGBTQ people; to reassessing how we can call out policies that stand in the way of building equity; to being a conduit for public and private investment in communities that face systemic challenges; and to providing hands-on support to make community-driven change.We are here to have the conversation about how we can be better and do better.

Let us all not just say, but demonstrate that black lives matter and that we are all connected by our shared humanity.

In solidarity,
LISC Phoenix team