In the time since the tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of police, the board of Piedmont Yoga Community has striven to process how we can most effectively stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We hope that the uprising and demonstrations are a turning point in recognizing and addressing our country’s long history of police violence, systematic racism, and injustice towards Black people.
PYC stands against the violence and continuing racial inequities perpetuated against Black people here in the USA, as well as anywhere around the world.
We are looking at how PYC can make a difference and address these inequities within the framework of our organization, what we do, and how we do it. We want to reach out and purposefully support people who live at the intersection of Race and Disability – people who live with disabilities and chronic health conditions - to take advantage of our yoga classes. We want to explore how we may have inadvertently excluded Black people from our program. People with health challenges are disproportionately impacted by violence, and this is only amplified in the Black community. We will explore additional forms of outreach. We will become better educated on how PYC can support the ongoing movement to create a more just society.
We welcome your ideas or feedback on how we can best be inclusive in our work.
We breathe in solidarity, Black Lives Matter.
Namaste,
Chris Roberts,
President of the Board
Piedmont Yoga Community