In Minnesota and across the nation, our communities are feeling grief and anger about the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in Minnesota. The Monarch Joint Venture stands in solidarity with Black Minnesotans and people of color everywhere, asking, pleading, and demanding change in response to George Floyd’s death and all the others that were wrongfully killed before him.
As we work to bridge divides in the world of conservation, the world is stepping up to bridge an even greater divide this week. Communities far and wide are filled with raw emotion – anger, frustration, sadness, despair…but also hope. Just as conservation lives on hope for a healthier planet for future generations, the strength in communities coming together to stand and fight for change provides hope and inspiration. We must listen, we must act, we must raise our voices and support each other.
Our personal and collective reactions to recent events provide the basis for finding solutions to challenging local and global issues. As many are working diligently to research solutions for new challenges like a global pandemic, the fight for racial justice and racial equality has a long history and long road ahead. The fight for environmental justice cannot be successful if the intersection with the fight for racial justice does not also receive our energy.
Together we will find solutions for meaningful change.
Yours in partnership,
The Monarch Joint Venture
for some time for the Parks and Rec.
Horticultural Department, which means,
perhaps, that with his very large hands,
perhaps, in all likelihood,
he put gently into the earth
some plants which, most likely,
some of them, in all likelihood,
continue to grow, continue
to do what such plants do, like house
and feed small and necessary creatures,
like being pleasant to touch and smell,
like converting sunlight
into food, like making it easier
for us to breathe.