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Issue #9 Publishers Letter

It doesn’t seem nearly enough to say “Black Lives Matter.”

Not nearly enough compassion, effort, or energy can go into those three words that communicate the extent to which humanity is waking up to the fact that we as a society need a paradigm shift-systemically.

It’s a multi-system issue and to fix it requires a multi-system approach: not just law enforcement, not just housing, or education, or healthcare, but also businesses and financial institutions play a part in righting this wrong.

It doesn’t seem nearly enough to share postings on Facebook to amplify the extent to which the system is broken and not nearly enough to donate to our local NAACP or patronize local black-owned businesses.

I don’t know what “enough” would feel like here, but one thing we do believe is that visibility saves lives.

It’s important for people in recovery to share their journey so that others can see we do recover and a core value for Journey is inclusivity. Being visible and adding our voices to the volume that Black Lives Matter is an action we can take.

We can educate ourselves and do what we can to amp up the volume and be visible, vocal, bold, and consistent in our messaging, and although we’ll make mistakes as we show up imperfectly we’ll come from a place of love; and rather than be quiet out of fear of making mistakes, we’ll continue to show up.

Alison’s article in this issue, How to Be An Ally, gives us some guidance on showing up for this by 1) Listening, 2) Learning, 3) Showing up, 4) Finding our talent and using it, and 5) Speaking up. Sarah Kelly’s article on Meaningful Conversations provides some tips on active listening.

As we look to do our part in creating a more inclusive future, we welcome conversations about race and recovery in these pages. And we’ll actively seek out conversations to join as we learn more and engage more in being part of the solution.

From my heart,

Carolyn

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