We are seeing an explosion of anger and despair across our country. The murders of black men and women by vigilantes and law enforcement is not new. This pain and injustice has been with us even before the founding of our country. Since at least 1619, systemic racial terror has been used to create an unjust and unequal society.

The current outpouring of grief is not only about the death of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others. It is also about hopelessness. With sky-high unemployment and a pandemic affecting communities of color, poor people, immigrants, LGBTQ communities and the elderly hardest, there is mistrust of society’s civil institutions. Institutions that have historically designed systems to disempower; and who are not held accountable for their discriminatory practices.

The coronavirus is a health and economic crisis — but also, fundamentally, an equity crisis that has exposed the breadth and depth of division and inequality in America — on issues like health, voting, education, justice and economic survival. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights has launched the Campaign for Equal Dignity to help galvanize a movement of people to affirm the core rights and values of our democracy.

Join the Center’s CEO, Jill Savitt, for a conversation around the Center’s new campaign and how you can get involved.