“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities mourns the killings of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and similar deaths that have taken place across the country.  These deaths make clear that racial injustice continues to pervade all of our communities.  In response, we commit to take concrete steps to further racial justice and equality.  We will start this summer with an examination of our work and our initiatives to determine specific actions we will take to increase inclusion and diversity in our leadership, our relationships, and our work.   We renew our commitment to advocate for the rights of all people with disabilities, especially people of color with disabilities.  We know now is not the time just for making statements.  We must act.  We must commit to change for the long-term. We must demonstrate through our actions our commitment to racial justice and equality.  And we must hold each other accountable to end racism in all its forms.

We will be discussing our next steps as a staff at an all-day staff development and with our Executive Committee and Council this summer.  We encourage you to be in dialogue with us and to follow our progress.

Kerri Eaker, Council Chair 
   
                                       

 Talley Wells, Executive Director

A Statement from Our Partners

NC Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Mandy Cohen

Disability Rights North Carolina

Disability:IN North Carolina

Autism Society of North Carolina 

Resources on Police Violence

Plain Language Resource from ASAN: What is Police Violence? 

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network’s New Plain Language Resource on Police Violence.