To the WEL Family:
The past three months have been extraordinarily stressful for everyone at Wesley Enhanced Living. Just as it seemed as though the our lives were beginning to stabilize somewhat from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, the country has been shook to its core by the events in Minneapolis and the murder of George Floyd.
It is simply not possible for anyone to watch that video and not recoil, and realize what happened to Mr. Floyd could happen to anyone. But, the condemning reality is that absolutely no one is surprised that it happened to yet another black man in our country – and it is long past time to confront ourselves that we are aware of and have accepted the racism in society that permits these injustices, regularly and on an ongoing basis, throughout our entire history. People like me have accepted it and people not like me have paid the price of that acceptance in every aspect, large and small, of their lives.
This country was founded on the principal that “all men are created equal” – but the founding fathers didn’t mean it then – most people were left out of that equality then – and we still don’t mean it now. But we also stated our founding purpose in the first sentence of the Constitution “to form a more perfect union” – not a perfect one, and that phrase demands more of all of us all the time, right now, to do better. As the protests across the country have communicated so eloquently, ENOUGH! We can no longer accept this social injustice.
By ourselves, we cannot solve the greater systematic sins of society in America, but we can and must reject it within WEL. Ironically, we have gotten through the past 3 months by joining together and committing to each other – there is simply no excuse for denying or demeaning the value of each other…we know better. Everyone here is battle-tested and proven worthy.
WEL’s core value is to do the right thing. Sitting idly on the sidelines by saying to yourself “well, I am not a racist” is unacceptable. Paraphrasing the profound words of Eldridge Cleaver if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Be part of the solution…accept the obligation to make a difference – expect more of ourselves and each other, and don’t accept less. Do the right thing.