Black Lives Matter.   The recent and painful murders of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery – along with the many other African Americans who have lost their lives due to police action, have laid bare the gaping wounds of discrimination and social injustice that black Americans have suffered and endured for hundreds of years.  

 

We at Global Family Travels are saddened by these incidents and acknowledge the pain, injustice, loss of opportunity and life that systemic racism and oppression causes.  Our global pandemic has also shown that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

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Global Family Travels' vision is to unite humanity and inspire travelers to take responsibility for the challenges and opportunities facing our increasingly inter-connected planet.  Our mission is to provide community-based travel experiences to foster cross-cultural understanding, Unity and better global citizens. In alignment with our vision and mission, we collectively stand in solidarity with Black Americans and communities of color in insisting on racial equality in criminal justice, health care, education, and economic opportunity.

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Furthermore, we commit to:

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• Gain knowledge by reading and listening to black voices to determine how we can help build a just system and to dismantle institutional racism. Therefore, we begin our commitment by educating ourselves and sharing on our platform some important resources that we have found valuable:  Black Lives Matter: Resources to help Understand what Actions you can take to Help.

• Create Learn, Serve & Immerse travel experiences, both global and local, to help deepen the understanding of diverse people and cultures.  We hope these offerings will cultivate compassion and provide perspectives for our guests to discover our common roots and the very essence of humanity. 

• Continue to employ and partner with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). We are grateful to learn from our colleagues, and we will amplify their voices and share their perspectives in our community-based tourism work.

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During this time of awakening and turning point for humanity, we invite you to grow, learn, cultivate compassion and stand with us, as we stand now more than ever with our African-American Community and other people of color.   Together, we need the understanding, patience, and compassion to listen to each other. By learning about each other’s needs and sharing, we can help break down systemic inequities and create stronger communities.

 

Ultimately, in the words of Maya Angelou in her poem Human Family,  “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”   These words are even more impactful when you listen to Dr. Angelou read the poem.

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#BlackLivesMatter #Unity #Compassion

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