In recent months, we have seen the heartbreaking consequences of persistent inequality in the United States play out as the COVID-19 pandemic transforms our nation and the world. Its impact is falling disproportionately on communities of color, Indigenous communities, and low-income communities. Rates of infection and deaths from the coronavirus among African​-American, Latinx and Indigenous people are far higher than among whites and, not surprisingly, access to affordable quality health care is harder to come by in marginalized communities.

In the last week, we have watched demonstrations build across the country in response to the tragic and indefensible deaths of Black Americans including Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and George Floyd. We share this grief; we support all voices raised in peaceful protest; and we stand in solidarity with every person, organization, and institution working to heal our communities and create a more equitable, just and sustainable world.

In the United States and beyond, we all deserve to live safely and with dignity, including healthcare, housing, water, education, civil and criminal justice, food security, a healthy environment, and much more. It is our collective responsibility, as advocates for healthy fish, wildlife, lands and waters, as parents, as neighbors, and as humans, to speak out against inequity and injustice in our lives and communities. It is our collective responsibility to listen to and support Black people, Indigenous and communities of color to achieve equity and justice. It is our collective responsibility to build a country where everyone can live, work, breathe, run, and enjoy nature and its bounty freely and safely.

Here are several ways you can contribute to a more just future for all:

DONATE: Official George Floyd Memorial Fund started by his brother, Philonise Floyd.

LEARN: Justice on Earth: People of Faith Working at the Intersections of Race, Class, and the Environment by Manish Mishra-Marzetti and Jennifer Nordstrom  (Editors)

ACT: Call for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery.