Heeding the Cries for Justice: Justice Oregon for Black Lives

The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and too many others at the hands of police have motivated activists of all stripes in the United States and abroad to demand justice for Black people. Their calls for justice have blossomed into a movement that demands attention and action to dismantle and reimagine the systems and institutions that uphold racism and injustice in our communities.

The Meyer Memorial Trust board condemns anti-Black racism and prejudice in all forms. We acknowledge the role anti-Blackness has played in Oregon, a state founded on the principle of excluding Black people from stepping inside its borders. We understand that the threads of anti-Blackness codified in Oregon’s original constitution remain woven into the fabric of our society. We know that injustice will persist until Oregonians can entirely disentangle our laws, institutions, policies and beliefs from those historic threads.

Since 2014, Meyer’s mission has been to work with and invest in organizations, communities, ideas, and efforts that contribute to a flourishing and equitable Oregon. In our work we have defined equity to mean ​the existence of conditions where all people can reach their full potential. ​While all four of our grantmaking portfolios list people of color as priority populations, this moment in history demands that we be explicit about who faces barriers to reaching their full potential. Now is the moment to address the specific experiences of BlackOregonians, to state unequivocally that Black lives matter.

On June 29, we voted to ​launch a new program at Meyer: ​Justice Oregon for Black Lives​. We will draw down our endowment to fund this $25 million, five-year commitment to lift up Black Oregonians, leadership and organizations. This initiative harnesses the momentum toward racial justice by ​deepening investment in Black-led and Black-serving organizations, community well-being and lasting strategic change.

Strategies for Justice Oregon will be developed in collaboration with Black communities, leaders and organizations in Oregon. Meyer will strive to be flexible and responsive to meet the needs of a movement that is unfolding quickly and will continue to evolve. It is our intention that Justice Oregon will seed systems-level change by centering Black Oregonians and supporting work with the potential to improve the lives of all Oregonians. The work of achieving justice requires contribution from all sectors of society. We call on our peers in philanthropy and our partners in business and industry to pull the levers of power within their reach to support this movement. We look forward to working together.

Meyer remains committed to our nonprofit partners across Oregon, whose work we support through our Equitable Education, Healthy Environment, Housing Opportunities and Building Community portfolios. Justice Oregon deepens Meyer’s investment in the state beyond these portfolios.

In just a few weeks, the movement has opened a national dialogue, driven municipal policy changes and removed symbols of racism from sports arenas, consumer products, statehouses, state flags and monument pedestals. These signals of change are the result of decades of advocacy and groundwork laid by Black leaders, communities and organizations. We know there is more to come. We stand with the stalwart champions of justice and with the emerging leaders of the present mobilization. We are in this with you for the long haul.

— Toya Fick, Charles Wilhoite, Janet Hamada, Mitch Hornecker, Alice Cuprill-Comas and AmyTykeson