Mercy Corps Statement: We Stand With the Black Community

Mercy Corps has always believed in the power of people to create positive social change. In more than 40 countries around the world, we work side by side with people living through poverty, suffering and oppression in their struggle to build a better future.

We stand with the Black community in the United States in the fight for justice, equality and an end to systemic racism. We join a nation in grief over the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others. We recognize the systemic racial inequity that puts Black lives at risk every day in the United States and continues to be prevalent in every aspect of American society, including economics, politics, education, employment and justice. The disproportionate impact of coronavirus on people of color, who are more likely to lose their jobs, more likely to get sick and less likely to have adequate access to health care, is yet more evidence of these inequities.

We know that Mercy Corps as an organization, and the international development community as a whole, must contend with a history rooted in colonialism and a present that is deeply inequitable. We are early in our journey, and there is much work to do. Mercy Corps is committed to listening, learning and taking action, including in our own recruitment, hiring and support of team members of color. We will continue to confront discrimination, promote equality and stand up for humanitarian values in the United States and around the world.