At Dining for Women, we come together as a community dedicated to equality and justice for women and girls around the world. While gender equality is our organization’s guiding star, we, as a community, know that this fight does not exist in a vacuum. We cannot separate gender inequality from other injustices we see in the world, no matter where they occur.  As Martin Luther King Jr. stated,

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” 

We grieve over the loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and too many others in the Black community. This persistent racial inequality and violence must end.

Just as we denounce the inequality experienced by women and girls globally, we denounce the systemic racism that is leading to violence and loss of life in the Black community here in the U.S. We cannot fight for one injustice without standing up against another.

Recently, Dining for Women laid out our commitment to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in a more intentional and deliberate fashion. We want to actively stand in solidarity with our members and all people who face discrimination, racism, stereotypes, and barriers, including the Black community. Black Lives Matter are only words unless we put action behind them. We know we have a lot of learning and growing to do so that we can fully recognize white privilege, power dynamics, and unconscious bias in all we do. We are committed to making this a priority for our entire organization.

As we join together in mourning for the lives lost, please know that Dining for Women is ready to listen and work with individuals and organizations to create a more equal and just world for all.