I watched in horror and anger yesterday as white supremacist terrorists led a violent insurrection that attempted to undermine our democracy, our elections, and our voices.
I don’t need to recount the events of what happened. If you’re like me, you’ve been glued to the news every moment since early yesterday afternoon. What I must do now is, once again, affirm our beliefs as an organization, and as a community.
This siege on our nation’s capitol has been years, even decades, in the making. The events that transpired were not surprising after years of the Trump administration and its allies consistently growing rallying cries and acts of violence that reflect their racism, misogyny, transphobia, xenophobia, and so much more. Many of our grantees here in the Northwest have been responding to and fighting against the resoundingly harmful impacts of this rhetoric and actions for years.
But I sincerely hope that the direness of this moment is abundantly clear and that our collective response will be to join the call for accountability for everyone involved at every level, and, as importantly, to reaffirm our commitment to abolishing white supremacy, deeply investing in the systems that strengthen and expand our democratic process, and living our values of justice for our communities in every action we take.
The reactions of our community leaders, as well as leaders around the globe, affirm that our democracy is indeed in danger—and that all of yesterday’s events were pivotal in its deepening fractures. As I watched my congresswoman and colleague Rep. Jayapal, with so many of our elected representatives, hide behind a wall on the floor of the congressional chamber, gas mask in hand, and terror in her eyes, I knew that this day would not only haunt me—it would go down in history.
The response and collusion of law enforcement to yesterday’s events is also a stark reminder of who our systems are to set up to protect and who they target. This summer, protestors advocating for racial justice, civil rights, and an end to police violence against Black people, were forced down on their knees with their hands up, shot and bloodied before being arrested and held in jail. While yesterday a group of mostly white people, some armed, were allowed by law enforcement to move through barricades, up the stairs of our country’s capitol building, to terrorize our elected officials and subvert our democratic process.
At Pride Foundation, when we say that we are fighting for a world where everyone has what we need to not only survive, but thrive, we do so grounded in hope—in the deep, unyielding belief that this future is actually possible. We do so from a deep belief in the power of abundance, love, and liberation. We do so because the future of our communities depends on it.
We continue to believe in the possibility of this world today, and we’ll believe in it tomorrow. We will never stop fighting for it, and we will continue our commitment to investing in the brilliant groups, organizations, and leaders who are building it together. Thank you for continuing to believe alongside us.
Katie Carter is Pride Foundation CEO.