Nor’wester stands for inclusion and denounces all forms of racism, hate, and bigotry
Dear Nor’wester Community,
We are compelled to share with you our sadness, frustration, and anger given the events of the last week following the murder of George Floyd. We see and hear how all People of Color, and all people, are affected by the tragic, senseless murders of Black Americans. It’s not just the events of this last week that are traumatizing; it’s a pervasive legacy of generational trauma and systemic racism that makes these recent events such painful reminders that we are all not yet equal as people. These acts of injustice run counter to everything we stand for at Camp Nor’wester – as an organization and as a community.
We want to name that we stand in solidarity with People of Color – our Black, Brown, and Indigenous campers, families, alumni and staff members – and People of Color around the world. We also name that we have work to do in order to grow and become even better stewards of inclusivity by role modeling this for our community. Just as our mission states, we take on the responsibility to help young people grow and learn about themselves, their communities, and the environment – and this means helping them envision and create a better future where there is zero tolerance for racism.
Nor’wester stands for inclusion and denounces all forms of racism, hate, and bigotry. Black Lives Matter. We are taking this opportunity to recommit to serving our mission with all members of our community and throughout the organization. We must all do the work for change to happen. We want all campers, staff and members of our community to feel safe, welcomed and inspired to live freely to their highest potential.
We have an opportunity to change the lives of future generations, so please join us in having your voice heard, however that looks, and take time to listen to your kids. We encourage everyone to be courageous by creating a safe space to talk about race and historic patterns of injustice in order to help everyone understand what this critical time really means…and what we can do to contribute to the solution.
Start with listening and having conversations, then get involved, find local resources and educate yourself on the issues. In supporting young people through this, there are many online resources – here are a few suggestions for parents to explore:
With everything going on in the world around us, anxiety is incredibly high. It’s OK to not be OK. Please take good care of yourselves and if you need it, reach out for help. Even though Camp is not running this summer, we take our mission very seriously and will strive to be a beacon of hope and light through this awakening.
Together we are stronger,
The Nor’wester Board of Directors
The Nor’wester Year-round Team
*June 6, 2020 – An oversight was brought to our attention after publishing this letter. Although we expressed that we stand with Black members of our camp community and People of Color around the world, and that we stand against injustice and for inclusion, we did not make it clear that Camp Nor’wester believes Black Lives Matter by stating those words in our first release. We graciously accept the invitation to do better – and appreciate the individual who spoke up to bring this missed opportunity for clarity to our attention.
