We stand at a crossroads, centuries overdue.

Protests across our nation and the world express outrage and grief over our country’s long history of systemic racism and police brutality that most recently claimed the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, and Tony McDade. These protests demand we make fundamental changes as a society and transform ourselves from a society that reflects white supremacy into a society that reflects racial justice and equity for Black people and all people of color.

OICF stands with the Black Lives Matter movement. Here on Orcas Island, OICF commits that we must do our part to take the path that leads to a more just community, nation, and world. OICF commits ourselves as individuals and as an organization, both internally and externally, to play whatever role we can to respond to this call, including helping to foster the public conversations and changes on Orcas that promote a true sense of belonging for everyone, particularly Black people, indigenous people and other communities of color.