Letter from BizStarts Executive Director Patrick Snyder

During this time of great sadness and uncertainty, we must keep in mind there is room for feelings of opportunity and hope. There are people working intensely to solve the issues of injustice and racial inequality. BizStarts stands behind the black community with prayers, good thoughts, and tremendous efforts now and always.

Please allow me to share a thoughtful message and attachment from our friend Angela Adams below.

“My heart is profoundly heavy and I am unimaginably exhausted with the ongoing state of affairs. Communities across America are in chaos as we all navigate two major crises – the COVID-19 pandemic and the outrage resulting from the tragic and senseless death of Mr. George Floyd. The devastating impact of the health crisis in the Black community and the reckless murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the countless, sometimes nameless others are no surprise. They are the most recent tipping point of a population of people who know that these events are not new – they are just being verified by data and video. This is on top of the all too familiar micro-aggressions and biases experienced where we live and work.

I am, however, encouraged that people of all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds across the world are coming together to lift their voices in support of Black people – our health, our lives, our prosperity. Colleagues and friends, I encourage you to look beyond the sensationalism of the headlines that seek to distract with the actions of bad actors. The actions of anyone choosing destruction and violence do not represent our demand for equity and opportunity.

As a founding board member of the African American Leadership Alliance – Milwaukee (AALAM), I am sharing the attached response letter drafted on behalf of the collection of leaders who serve the Greater Milwaukee African American community. The letter includes names of leaders from area health systems, community businesses and entrepreneurs, influencers, and local school systems who have been participating in Milwaukee’s Black Community response to the COVID-19 crisis. The letter is being shared with media and community stakeholders and is a follow on to the May 28 launch of the You Matter Campaign in partnership with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the City of Milwaukee Health Department.

“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I do not have the answer but I know we can heal our community and make a difference, together.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay woke!”

Angela