Below is a statement that focuses on WHO WE ARE and HOW WE WANT TO BE in this Black Advocacy/Social Justice community, regarding processes for accountability when there are accusations/allegations of harm.

Please post to your social media sites, share via email, and invite others to add their names in support of this statement. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN ANONYMOUSLY. We are being accountable to one another, in the light, not in the shadows. 

We are at a pivotal point in our community; what we accept as process now is what we will all have to live with in the future. It is in all our interests to want processes that are transparent, fair, and that appropriately and compassionately hold us all accountable.

“Statement of Accountability, Transparency, Safety, and Fairness Within the Black Advocacy Community”

We are writing as women and men who believe and live in accordance with Justice Principles of accountability, transparent process, and fairness, and who have dedicated our lives and continue to do so to work to advance justice for groups that have been historically marginalized.

Mostly, we write as people who believe in justice, and who believe in developing fair processes. These processes require transparency and openness by which to make informed judgements through which we hold our advocacy family members accountable.

Whether pursuing “traditional” legal methods that place “justice” back in the hands of systems that have often denied it to historically marginalized communities, or whether pursuing alternative community accountability processes, we should not condone processes that accept allegations as truths and that short-circuit transparent processes of accountability.

This moment in local, regional, and national history — especially in light of a local situation in which anonymous allegations have spread across social media — requires us to take stock of our individual and collective actions and how these actions advance or undermine our values.

We are living in a time when the actions we choose as a pathway to justice will move us forward or backward. We can stand in support of accountability in ways that live the justice principles we say we hold. We can do this while both embracing and protecting those alleging wrongs AND supporting transparent processes where evidence supports or disproves allegations.

As communities, we should hold and expect individuals to be accountable for their actions. Because of these expectations, our procedures for arriving at truths should be as stringent as the accountability we expect of individuals who have transgressed and injured our Sisters and Brothers.

There are times when justice demands throwing off cloaks of anonymity and speaking out, either publicly or in protected forums that support fair process. Justice demands that those who do step forward are embraced and protected by their respective communities — not shamed. Justice demands that punishments occur once guilt is proven — not before. And justice demands that our judgement processes are transparent, fair — AND INFORMED.

Let’s stay on the paths of Transparent Process, Accountability, Safety, and Justice. We owe it to ourselves, our City, and our movements for justice.

If you agree that in our social justice work, a justice process looks fair, transparent, and safe, please share and/or sign this statement. By doing so, you agree that you will not participate in any other process that doesn’t uphold safety for all involved, transparency, and fairness. You agree that you will advocate for safe, transparent, and fair processes when there are accusations and conflicts within Baltimore’s social justice community.

PLEASE DO NOT SIGN ANONYMOUSLY. We are being accountable to one another, in the light, not in the shadows.

Statement Drafted & Supported By:

A. Adar Ayira,
Avis Ransom
Dorcas Gilmore
Marisela Gomez
Raymond Winbush