OUR COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE AND EQUALITY

We are stronger as a diverse society, one in which we are acknowledged and treated as equals. A society where it is clear to all that equality is an inalienable right, a self evident truth. Where it is respect for this fundamental truth that governs our systems. Where equality for all is not just a hope and a dream that we have, but a lived reality.
 
We are stronger as a society when the complex weave of our differences and histories is considered a source from which to draw profound wisdom, a source of endless curiosity, rather than a battleground of dominance, fear, pain, and loss. 
 
The indignities and terrible consequences of an unequal society—the loss of life and the swell of fear, the fear for one’s safety while in handcuffs, lying on the ground, or watching the birds, or out for a jog around the block, or sleeping in one’s own apartment—have in recent weeks and months been widely acknowledged, and widely visible.
 
But these indignities and terrible consequences are not always widely acknowledged and widely visible. This is a rare moment. Often, these stories are hidden, or ignored, or distrusted and dismissed by the larger society in which they occur. And, left hidden or ignored, indignities and suffering simply continue on, and on.
 
This is a rare moment. One that reminds us that the creation of an equal society requires continuously active and engaged minds—in conversation with one another, hearing each other’s stories, open to each other’s perspectives and thoughtful about one’s blind spots and the systems we all live in and depend on—joined together in a sustained force of will to re-shape our world into one that we all experience as just. 
 
We believe in the power of the humanities, of self-inquiry, of self-examination, of connection and community. We believe in creating the spaces and opportunities to share our experiences and differences—our roots, our histories, our cultures, our struggles, our questions, our beliefs, our dreams—with each other. We believe in the growth that comes from this, and in the growth that comes from examining our systems, communities, and long held assumptions from multiple, diverse perspectives. Our many programs at Humanities Guåhan—our community conversations, our literacy program, our youth engagement programs and workshops and exhibits—have been and will continue to be built from these beliefs. 
 
We believe Black Lives Matter. We believe that all are created equal. We condemn systemic racism in all of its forms, whether it be in the larger world, our nation or in our island of Guam.

June 2020