Commit Now
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”
- US Representative and Civil Rights Icon John Lewis
COMMITMENT CONTRACT
When President Barack Obama bestowed the presidential medal of freedom upon then US Rep. John Lewis in 2011, this is what he said about him.
“There’s a quote inscribed over a doorway in Nashville, where students first refused to leave lunch counters 51 years ago this February. And the quote said, “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” It’s a question John Lewis has been asking his entire life. It’s what led him back to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma after he had already been beaten within an inch of his life days before. ..... generations from now, when parents teach their children what is meant by courage, the story of John Lewis will come to mind -- an American who knew that change could not wait for some other person or some other time; whose life is a lesson in the fierce urgency of now.”
The late US Rep John Lewis was about commitment and action to doing what is right. Eradicating racism is right. Spreading anti-racism is right. If you believe in these values as John Lewis did, then COMMIT NOW to JOIN ARCC.
I am joining the Anti-Racism Commitment Coalition, or ARCC, and therefore, commit to the following:
Commit to voting against and publicly challenging all current public officials and prospective candidates who support racism and hate (directly or indirectly) and / or remain silent, refuse to stand against it and do not actively support Anti-racism, and convince those in your network to do the same.
Commit to transforming yourself and all in your network to become anti-racist, and hold yourself and those in your network accountable to do so.
Commit to continuously educating yourself about the true history of the United States and its people, not the EuroCentric version and work to ensure the real history is finally reflected in our schools, books and curriculum.
Commit to always speaking out about racism and taking action to eradicate it, no matter the audience.
Commit to never allowing racist “dog whistles” and racially charged code words, like thug, rioters, low income people, urban people, migrants, immigrants, etc. to go unchallenged and call them what they are - racist terms.
Commit to always voting and using your vote for candidates who stand for anti-racism, and use it against those who back racist policies and remain silent or take no action to eradicate racism. Use your influence and vote to have racist statues, buildings and street names, and other honorariums removed.
Commit to using your money as a tool to promote anti-racism by supporting businesses that publicly take action to drive anti-racism, and use your money as a weapon against those who remain silent on issues of race or support racism and hate, by boycotting their businesses.
And Commit to Supporting ARCC publicly by displaying your picture and commitment statement on the coalition page to provide support and inspiration to the next prospective ARCC member.