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鈥淔or the first 15 years of my work in sustainability, I basically ignored the role of race. I thought 鈥楲et others do that work. There鈥檚 plenty of good I can do without wading into that quagmire.鈥� As I鈥檝e awakened since, I鈥檝e felt guilt, shame, anger, and helplessness.鈥�

That was my answer to 鈥淲hat is my relationship to White fragility?鈥� a question posed to YES! staff at a Courageous Conversations racial equity training last year. 

As my understanding of structural racism and commitment to ending it have grown over the years, I continue to experience guilt (鈥淚鈥檓 not doing enough鈥�) and helplessness (鈥淲ill it ever be enough?鈥�). Because the more I uncover, the more work there is to do.

The changemaker in me wants to know, 鈥淲hat does success look like, and how will we know when we get there?鈥� If I鈥檓 honest, the shadow of that question is, 鈥淲hen can I be done working on this?鈥� I am then reminded, again, that the very fact that I can ask that question exposes the perniciousness of White privilege, because Black people in the United States don鈥檛 get to take a break from the torment of racism. 

In the three months since our last issue, we鈥檝e witnessed the killing of George Floyd by police and the violent suppression of protests, along with the disproportionate devastation of COVID-19 on communities of color. These events have shattered the delusion of many White people that we can live with racism as normal background noise to our otherwise well-intentioned lives. 

Many have come to understand that we simply cannot create a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world until we are fully committed to the work of dismantling institutional racism. In other words, if we believe Black lives matter, we must act now to create a world where that is true. 

This magazine issue is meant to give us鈥攖hrough the eyes of Black writers, artists, and photographers鈥攁 vision for that world. You can read about economic policies, policing and health initiatives, and reparations and healing that show how to value Black lives. Implementing these policies requires replacing the cultural scaffolding of norms and beliefs that uphold White supremacy as the status quo in our communities, organizations, and governments. 

Culture change is a long-term process that requires transformation at every level, from individuals to governments. The only way to do it is to do it! We at YES! promise to be there for you with stories that inspire and inform your own commitment to a world where Black lives matter. 

Thank you for all you do, 

Christine Hanna