IBTTA’s Commitment to Address Racial and Social Injustice

WASHINGTON – IBTTA President Samuel Johnson and Executive Director & CEO Patrick Jones released the following message to the IBTTA Community on June 29, 2020.

The IBTTA family in the United States and around the world is outraged and saddened by the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Aubrey, and the countless number of human beings whose lives have been taken simply because of the color of their skin.  We acknowledge that Black lives matter, and that those lives were lost to beliefs, behaviors, and practices founded in ignorance and rooted in systemic racism throughout the United States.

In recent days, we have heard from many of you in our IBTTA family. We are grateful for your willingness to share, and we are convinced that this moment calls for each of us to courageously align our words and deeds so that, in all we do, our words and our actions center on human dignity, particularly for those to whom it has been denied. IBTTA stands to denounce systemic practices that exclude basic human dignity and equitable treatment for all.

As the shock and anger over these senseless killings sweep over us, we must dedicate ourselves to recognizing the past treatment of people who have historically been denied full participation in society. Each of us must commit to deepening our understanding of racial injustice, uplifting human dignity, and fighting racial and social injustice through informed, meaningful, and sustained action.

As a start, we are establishing a Task Force on Diversity, Social, and Racial Inclusion.  Its mission is to listen to the voices of those in our association and society who truly understand and recognize the depth of the inequity caused by racial and social injustice. With this knowledge, we will work to implement practices and programs that contribute to racial and social justice in our IBTTA family and beyond.

The road ahead will be hard, and we will encounter roadblocks along the way. However, we are up to the challenge and will work TOGETHER, with all our energy and skill, to advance racial and social justice as we move forward on THE ROAD TO CONTINUED EXCELLENCE.

June 29, 2020