Business as Unusual.

• Author: Campbell, Brad
• Position: LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

THE LAST YEAR HAS SHOWN US JUST HOW PRECARIOUS OUR NORMS ARE. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted, derailed, and disoriented our lives. But it also unearthed racial injustices and systemic failures that have been hiding in plain sight for far too long.

Watching as we all shifted our priorities and re-imagined how we manage our lives both personally and professionally, I have been amazed at the ability of CLF's talented staff and volunteers to pivot, refocus, and reinvent how we move our work forward. And, we have been buoyed by the continued passion and dedication of our donors in continuing to show up, speak up, and step up to ensure that we had the resources to keep going through such uncertainty.

Now, as vaccination rates continue to rise, we appear poised to go back to life as usual. But should we merely pick up where so many of us left off almost 18 months ago?

I would argue that no, we should not--especially if "usual" means once again burying the reality of the injustices that have plagued our country for centuries and still overburden communities of color today.

Now is not the time to be complacent. Our responsibility--our obligation--is to create a new normal for and, most importantly, with the people we serve. We can overcome the challenges...