Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health
Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Resources Centering Equity

Centering Equity

MI-AIMH Stands in Solidarity

The Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH) will not stand for the racial injustice in the daily lives of black families, friends and colleagues. MI-AIMH’s mission is “to promote and support nurturing relationships for all infants, young children and their families”.  We recognize that our voices need to be amplified around the systemic racism that has been happening in our country for hundreds of years. The recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the many others over the years highlight how long the road ahead is for our country, for our organization, and for each of us as individuals.
MI-AIMH is dedicated to speaking up on behalf of babies, families and communities. We commit to speaking up louder and more often on behalf of black babies and their families, as well as to support the black professionals among us who carry additional burdens. To the black professionals in our organization, MI-AIMH wants you to know that we hear you, we see you, and we will speak up and stand up for you.  We are here to listen, to engage in our own learning, and to continue to do our work to support you.
We have been working to dismantle systemic oppression as an organization, but know there is more work to be done. We will continue to consciously evolve and take pause to look inward and to reflect on how we can use our platform in the ongoing fight against racial injustice.
We will build upon our work through policies and practices that integrate consideration of racial justice throughout all that we do. Many in our MI-AIMH community have been invested in racial justice work and are having important conversations about race with families and within organizations. We will be creating ongoing opportunities for conversations with you, our members. You will hear from us over the next many months about these opportunities and can hold us accountable for our actions related to race and privilege. Your critical feedback is important to us.
As an individual, you can do many things:
  1. Demand Justice by signing the following petitions by clicking the hyperlink below:
     Justice for George Floyd
    Color Of Change #JusticeForFloyd
    Justice for Ahmaud Arbery
    Justice for Breonna Taylor *
*You can also leave a message for Louisville Mayor and       demand justice for Breonna Taylor (502-574-2003)
  1. Contact your senators and representatives: educate and advocate for ongoing policy changes related to police practices and improvements in police training.
  2. We acknowledge that learning and educating oneself on the systemic racism in our country is a privilege; as opposed to experiencing it each and everyday. However, learning is also an essential step to create change. Listen and inform yourself through reading and conversations with others. MI-AIMH will create and continuously update a resource list of books, blogs, articles, podcasts and organizations that will be posted on our Facebook page. In the meantime, here are some resources to get started:
  1. Donate! If you are able, now is the time to respond in tangible ways. Donate and support the many initiatives and organizations dedicated to this cause.  MI-AIMH will be prioritizing funds ongoingly to support and sustain our stand against racial injustice and systemic racism. Stay tuned for details and ways you can help. Included here are a few organizations dedicated to this cause, that you may choose to donate to:
  1. We encourage program administration, supervisors and non-black colleagues to read the following article: Black Professionals Are Going Through A Lot and consider how you might further support the black professionals in your organization.
  2. Speak up when you see injustice, actively confront racism, bias and beliefs that perpetuate racial injustice and white supremacy.
  3. Another way to speak up is using your voice at the polls. We must vote if we want change at the local and national levels.
In solidarity,
Sheryl Goldberg on behalf of the MI-AIMH leadership team

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