The Board of Directors and Staff of Gene Slay’s Girls & Boys Club (GSGBC) stand united against systemic and institutional racism that has been steeped in America for far too long.  Our children and their families, our staff and our neighbors have endured bigotry and oppression for generations.

We mourn and see the death of George Floyd as a cruel and inhumane crime.  The senseless and tragic deaths of countless black Americans in recent months and years are not only reprehensible, but shine a light on the dark challenges of mistrust and injustices.  We stand in solidarity and demand justice for the violence against them.

Our entire community is in pain.  We recognize that this statement, and others being made like it across America, will not fix the many divides that are prevalent in our communities right now.  In order to advance real change and reform, voices from all parts of our community need to be in the room—only then will real solutions emerge and prevail.

At GSGBC, we encourage our children and youth to use their voices to call out wrongdoings.  We teach and model peaceful approaches to problem solving and conflict resolution.  Our programs work and reinforce the valuable life skills our girls and boys develop so they can be used outside of GSGBC. 

As a board, we continue to be committed to creating an environment of love and support.  We empower our staff and more than 700 youth that we serve each year to flourish and thrive in all aspects of their lives.   We pledge to be purposeful in our actions and we will, as we have always tried to do, listen to all the voices in the room.