In solidarity,
in grief, in service and in action

Dear Friends,

Make no mistake. The Identity community is sad, pained and angered by the racism that permeates and poisons our systems of criminal justice, education, health care, housing, voting and immigration and that shows up as devastating poverty, illness, and suffering. Black lives matter. We stand as one.

As Identity’s founding and enduring vision is of “a just and equitable society that nurtures all youth and is enriched by their contributions,” our work has always been hard. But it has never been more urgent. For communities of color, it is, and has been for centuries, a matter of life and death. And now, it demands even more from us.

We must see the fear, hurt and outrage rightly provoked not only by the murder of George Floyd, but also by countless other acts, from indifference and intolerance to violence aimed at Black and Brown communities. We must be relentless in combating this evil.

For more than 20 years, Identity has been helping one child at a time and fighting for systemic changes that disrupt patterns of underachievement, unemployment and lost hope. We will continue to keep the urgency front and center and to celebrate progress and call out complacency, foot-dragging and injustice wherever and whenever we see it.

But as we all know, we will only succeed if we are united in action. Division fuels oppression. We must stand with and up for one another.

We invite you again to take action. Our Promise of Latino Youth Report and Promise Challenge can help you answer, “What will I promise to do to close the gap between Latino youths’ dreams of a bright future and the reality of their lost potential?” And the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, co-founded by Identity and the NAACP Parents’ Council with 25 community partners, can help you answer “What will WE do together to immediately eliminate institutional barriers to student achievement and create the infrastructure and culture needed to achieve real and lasting improvements that transform student experiences for all youth, especially Black, Brown and low-income students?”

In solidarity, in grief, in service and in action,

Diego