At SSG Research & Evaluation, we are saddened and angered by the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. While we understand these are just a few of the most recent senselessly violent displays of racist policing on the Black community, we felt compelled to outwardly take a stand in solidarity with the Black community and the protestors who are elevating the issue of racism that has been long rooted in American history. We firmly believe that Black lives matter and that we have a duty in our personal work and professional lives to show that we stand strong in that belief. 

We reaffirm our team’s commitment to racial equity, and build upon the community-engaged approach to our work which has been centered around prioritizing and strengthening community voices. We understand that at this moment we cannot ignore the Black voices that are grieving over the death of George Floyd, and, along with the rest of the world, we condemn the unjust murder of Black people and push for dismantling systems of oppression and inequity. 

Our commitment 

In our commitment to taking this time to reflect, adjust, and take action, we, as researchers and evaluators, commit to better fight for Black communities we serve in our work and beyond. We understand that to advance the cause of racial equity, we must continue having discussions on race and racism within our own team to better understand how our role has unintentionally reinforced systems of inequity and oppression. We will review and reflect on our internal practices and values to identify better approaches to our work when collaborating with Black communities. Finally, we will work on how we can build external practices and hold spaces that will uplift the voices of the Black community. 

As our work aims to build research and evaluation capacity across different sectors with community-based organizations, public agencies, and philanthropic foundations, we understand that we have a unique opportunity to uplift the issues in the Black community. We will commit to using our position to fight racism across sectors and to hold our partners accountable. We urge our partners also to look within their own organizations on how they can fight against structural racism and anti-Blackness that both, directly and indirectly, affect the health and well-being of  Black communities.

Minneapolis:

1. Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
   https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

1. Reclaim The Block: Minneapolis
   https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2 

2. Black Visions Collective: Minneapolis
   https://secure.everyaction.com/4omQDAR0oUiUagTu0EG-Ig2  

Louisville: 

1. Petition for Breonna Taylor
   https://action.justiceforbreonna.org/sign/BreonnaWasEssential/ 

2. Louisville Community Bail Fund
   https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/louisville-community-bail-fund?source=twitter

3. Black Lives Matter - Louisville
   https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/support-stand-up-sunday 

Los Angeles:

1. People’s Budget LA 
   https://peoplesbudgetla.com/

1. Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles
   https://www.blmla.org/

2. BLD PWR
   https://bldpwr.com/

3. Community Coalition
   http://cocosouthla.org/

4. LA CAN
   https://cangress.org/

5. JusticeLA
   http://justicelanow.org/

Growing and community-built resource lists: 

• We are California
  https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/181TCtay-RYSuzQ7VZoEFvLvPk_sAr-FrMADPGogy9MY/mobilebasic