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Like millions of Americans, the Detroit Regional Partnership is deeply disturbed, saddened and frustrated by the racially motivated murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery – who we’ll never forget.

We also know that there are countless other stories of racial injustice happening everyday – and dating back over 400 years. These are stories that may never receive justice or acknowledgement, and to that end, we know that there is much work ahead. This will not be easy, but we must rise to the occasion as race is an unequal relationship between social groups based on privileged access to power and resources.

As our hearts and condolences are with the families and community, we must truthfully confront our history of racial injustice before we can take the necessary steps to repair its painful legacy. We in turn must address and deal with the uncomfortable truth of systemic racism.

Deep Prosperity has been part of our original Guiding Principles. As an economic development organization, we strive to ensure intentional engagement for those traditionally left out of economic growth.

We stand in solidarity and ready to take the first step, as we have a moral and socio-economic responsibility to provide economic opportunity for African Americans and other communities of color, while addressing structural issues.

In the coming days, we’ll begin to lay the foundation to move the needle forward by developing a Deep Prosperity Initiative, supported by our ecosystem and led by Tamekia (Ashford) Nixon, Vice President of Marketing for the Detroit Regional Partnership. With this very specific push – we believe it will help to scale a more collaborative and inclusive roadmap for pathway jobs in underserved communities.