”Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Community,

The recent killing of George Floyd is horrific and tragic. It is a graphic reminder of the ways in which our systems fail and oppress Black people and all people of color.

The incident also comes in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic that has disproportionately affected Black communities and other communities of color and has exacerbated existing inequity. Our students and their families are suffering. And now, with catastrophic economic hardship and little relief in sight, I fear that the already intolerable level of inequality will continue to rise.

We all have a responsibility to turn the tide and reverse it.

We must acknowledge the racist structures of our country and become aware of how we participate in them. Every one of us, especially those of us who benefit from anti-Blackness and racism, has an obligation to help dismantle that system and create an equitable and just society.

We must use our privilege to speak out.

ScholarMatch was founded to promote equitable access to higher education and support first-generation college students on the path to earning a bachelor’s degree. We strive for racial and social equity in our work and in our practices. And today, we recognize that that is not enough.

We collectively must listen to the voices of Black people and communities of color, who across our country are shouting, “enough.” Then we must take real action to make change.

We know that this issue is larger than us, but we are demonstrating our solidarity with this movement by first looking within and examining how we can use our time, resources, and social power to actively fight against the injustices we see and to support those who are adversely affected by them. We recognize that the time to act is now and we commit to developing a plan of action and sharing it with you soon.

As we work on this critical issue, we invite you, our community, to join the conversation by answering the following question: What can ScholarMatch do now to promote racial justice and equity? Share your thoughts here.

Thank you for being part of our community. We hope you will continue to stand with us in solidarity with this movement.

In community,

Diana Adamson, Executive Director

Founded by author Dave Eggers, ScholarMatch’s mission is to support first-generation college students to earn a bachelor’s degree within five years. We provide individualized advising, targeted financial support, and career mentoring all the way to graduation. To learn more about our work making college possible, please visit scholarmatch.org.

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