Statements and perspectives on Ferguson, Missouri

During the last two weeks, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation joined its partners in several statements calling for respect for young leaders and peaceful outcomes in Ferguson, Missouri:

• Open letter from members and allies of the Executive Alliance to Expand Opportunities for Young Men and Boys of Color with recommendations for law enforcement, legislative, judiciary and other officials and a related story in the Nonprofit Quarterly
• Op-Ed from WKKF President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch calling for safe, legal demonstrations  
• Joint statement from WKKF racial equity anchor organizations – 12 leading national health, equity and civil rights groups – standing in solidarity with young Ferguson activists as they seek justice.   

WKKF is committed to changing hearts, minds and deeply held and often-unconscious biases that cause the structural inequities holding back too many children of color.  In 2010, WKKF launched America Healing, an effort to put racism behind us by first putting it squarely in front of us – understanding it, acknowledging it and joining together to change it.

America Healing is a strategy for racial healing toward racial equity, and is designed to support and empower communities in their efforts to dismantle the structures that limit opportunities for children of color.

WKKF is hopeful that the Ferguson community, as well as the nation, will strive toward racial equity, rejecting racism and discrimination, and embrace the common good in all of us. The future of our children is at stake.