We are truly sad that this year we won’t be gathering to celebrate our shared joy in inclusive community. We regret that the time and hard work devoted by many volunteers of all sorts as we prepared for this important day in our community’s annual calendar will not have the reward of all the smiling faces and affirmative voices raised in a common call for a future where justice, love, and equality prevail. We love celebrating the legacy of Dr. King’s work with you all, and we will miss this opportunity.

Yet, we want to pause to remember that one cancelled parade is only a tiny bump along the road in our anti-racist efforts. The most meaningful anti-racist work, often uncelebrated, is carried out in our daily lives as we raise our voices against the injustices around us, stand in solidarity with fellow community members across our differences, and persist, openly, shamelessly, in our belief that love—love grounded in our understanding that we are undeniably the equals of one another—is the only path forward.

This is a new year. It has delivered us a disappointing weather forecast. But it remains a promising space. Even as we write you to cancel the parade, we remember our shared conviction that racism and all forms of discrimination, must be dismantled.  Six years ago, we were all a bit scared that we would not fill the streets with citizens committed to making King’s work real among us. Now we know we were wrong. We are in this together, and parade, or no, there is much to be done!

In solidarity,
The CARE Team