Dear NHL,

As you’re aware, there has been a substantial and appropriate response to the murder of Black Americans by police officers taking place all over the United States. American society is traumatized by the systemic, institutional racism that pervades the governing structures that rule our citizenry. Our Black neighbors live in fear every second of every day. They worry that their names will be the next one that scrolls across our TV screens, that their names will be the next that gets shouted in the streets, that they will be the next person murdered at the hands of the police. As leaders with an internationally-recognized platform, you have a responsibility to Black players, fans, and employees to openly and loudly affirm that they are safe from racism and discrimination.  within and outside your organization. 

We are sickened by the weak and misguided response from the NHL, as an organization. While you did release a statement and a short video condemning the acts and expressing support to those fighting for racial justice, you included NO action steps that the organization will take to have a significant, positive impact on the current Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. 

It is important that we hold you accountable for your lack of action because we know the NHL has a history of  significant and impressive impact when dedicated to a cause. The NHL’s support of You Can Play, Hockey Fights Cancer, and various law enforcement appreciation nights has raised millions of dollars and increased awareness for these causes. We know you have power, and we see you withholding it. 

Hockey is a predominantly white sport with little representation for people of color. Within the last five years, there have been several racially motivated incidents in NHL. The league responded by condemning the acts themselves, but took no direct action to protect these communities and prevent similar events from taking place in the future. Change does not just happen. You cannot expect these racially motivated incidents to simply evaporate. Instead, seize the current moment.  This is your chance to make amends for your inactions of the past. 

There has never been a more important movement in the history of the United States than the BLM movement happening today. We are fighting for racial equality and the eradication of police brutality.

We, and, more importantly, the people of the United States, need you to step up and take action.
You can start by doing the following:

-Publicly and explicitly condemn “systemic racism” in the U.S.
-Publicly and explicitly condemn “police brutality” in the U.S.
-Publicly and explicitly acknowledge police brutality disproportionately affects black Americans.
-Donate to BLM or an affiliated organization (listed below for your convenience)

If the NHL remains impotent in this fight, then we will boycott. We love the NHL, but we love equality, justice, and a brighter future for the United States more. 

We are tired of accepting condolences. We are tired of hearing your weak and hollow promises to stand with those who fight for social justice. USE YOUR PLATFORM, INFLUENCE, MONEY, AND RESOURCES TO JOIN THE FIGHT FOR JUSTICE. White silence and statements of appeasement cannot be how the most powerful hockey league in the world deals with these events. 

We have listed some resources below, by no means an exhaustive list, where the NHL’s staff and franchises can educate themselves on the aforementioned injustices and learn how to have a significant impact. 

Sincerely,
NHL fans for social justice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Resources~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speakers:

Monique Melton​, Bryant Moore​, Jacqueline Battalora​, Shakti Butler​, Victor Lewis​, Peggy McIntosh​, Tim Wise​, Rachel Cargle

Articles:

How to build an actively anti-racist company from qz.com

Racial Equality Tools: A list of resources to be used to educated individuals and companies in their personal lives or in the workplace

Systems Thinking and Race: Summary of a workshop run by The California Endowment in 2011 that looks at how issues and problems of race are interconnected and offer tools to help identify strategic points of intervention to make a difference.

Books:

How to Be Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

So You Want to Talk About Race  Ijeoma Oluo

White Fragility by Robin Diangelo

Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice by Paul Kivel

Organizations to Support:

Black Emotional And Mental Health Collective- https://www.beam.community/  (Los Angeles)

Black Visions Collective- https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/  (Minnesota)

Campaign Zero- https://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision  (National)

Defend Black Life- https://www.defendingblacklives.org/  (National)

Ella Baker Center for Human Rights- https://ellabakercenter.org/ (National)

Know Your Rights Camp- https://www.beam.community/  (Multi-City)

Louisville Community Bail Fund- https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/louisville-community-bail-fund/ 

Minnesota Freedom Fund- https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/ 

Movement for Black Lives- https://m4bl.org/  (National)

My Block My Hood My City- https://www.formyblock.org/  (Chicago specific)

National Bail Out- https://secure.actblue.com/donate/freeblackmamas2020  (National)

National Black Justice Coalition- http://nbjc.org/ (National)

The Bail Project- https://bailproject.org/  (National)