Black lives matter. 

Alaska Women Ascend condemns the racist murders of Rashad Brooks, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many more. We seek justice for all victims of violence, racist attacks, and police brutality and demand accountability for their attackers. Reform of America’s law enforcement and criminal punishment system--and Alaska’s specifically--is long overdue. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and their allies calling for justice and seeking to end systemic racism. 

We believe one step in effecting change is to elect diverse leadership that is truly representative of the people they serve. While increasing the proportion of women and non-binary people serving in public office remains crucial, we recognize that Black women and women of color more broadly are particularly underrepresented. We commit to provide resources to women of color, to reach out to more diverse communities, and to support them as they work to run, win, and lead. Alaska will be better off when our elected leadership includes more Black women, Indigenous women, and other women of color. 

Furthermore, we commit to reexamine our curriculum to make sure that we are training women to be anti-racists in their private lives and as they run for office and serve the public. We will examine our own implicit biases and strive to weave racial justice and equity throughout our program. To ensure this work continues, we have formed an internal working group that will focus on racial justice as it intersects with our program. We can and must do better.  

Previously, our mission announced that we train women who are “pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ rights, and pro-union.” To that list, we now add “anti-racist and pro-racial justice.” Racial justice should have been an explicit component of our program from the beginning. For that, we sincerely apologize.  Moving forward, we know that dedication to fighting racism is a crucial part of any progressive platform and we will seek to do better, listening to and learning from Black women and women of color in our communities and state.