The persistence of racism—and particularly of anti-Black racism in America—impedes the progress of all of us toward the ideals that America espouses to the world. The killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and far too many other Black people are part of a long and gruesome pattern of inhumane behavior and a product of deeply embedded structural racism. It is incumbent upon all of us to dismantle the structures and systems of oppression and white-supremacist thinking that pervade American society and disproportionately impact Black lives, Black communities, and Black livelihoods.

In particular, the persistence of racial injustice in the United States must challenge in new ways all those with power, influence, and wealth in this country. The Henry Luce Foundation—like all of philanthropy—has been endowed with significant resources. With those resources comes the solemn responsibility to make the future better than the past. To be better, the future must be more equitable, more inclusive, and more just.

Across the sectors and programs we support, the Luce Foundation commits to working with new and existing partners to combat the white-centric mindsets and anti-Black racism that are deeply embedded in so much of American society and our systems of power, in too many educational, religious, and cultural institutions, and too often in our international engagements.

Mariko Silver
President & CEO, Henry Luce Foundation