Because of our mission, to facilitate the development of caring, thoughtful, and responsible human beings, we are compelled to share our sadness and frustration with the state of racial relations in our country - the past few weeks being just a short series of events in our long history. These continued acts of injustice against people of color around the world and the pervasive legacy of generational trauma and systemic racism represent none of the human traits that we aspire to at CSC. They are painful reminders that we are all not yet equal.
Colvig Silver Camps stands for inclusion and denounces all forms of racism, hate, and bigotry. At camp we strive to create an idealized community, a space and a place within our valley every summer where every member is welcomed, accepted, and celebrated for who they are. The hope is that those community ideals spread outward from CSC.
But there are so many people that feel their lives don’t matter and so many incidents that support that feeling. Right now our black friends need our support. So we state that Black Lives Matter, as a clear and simple way of saying that we all matter. Right now our Indigenous friends of the nearby Navajo Nation need our support. So we state that Indigenous Lives Matter as a way of saying that we all matter. We stand with all people of color around the world and the inequalities that they face every day.
If we represent our ideals of CTR, then we must be better. We must do more. We must do the work to understand and take action to create the systemic change that will allow everyone to live freely and achieve their highest potential. Every activity, every moment, every interaction at CSC has the intention of growth and that sometimes requires discomfort. In this situation, we are committed to that same discomfort we expect our campers to learn from. We welcome the challenges that come with the opportunities to educate ourselves.
Today is Juneteenth, a day that serves as a reference point from which to measure and appreciate the progress and contributions made by African Americans to this society. We will be recognizing this day by committing our program to renewed discussion about how we can connect more effectively with communities of color and better serve them as a summer camp.
Please join us in this effort to change the lives of future generations. We invite you to create space in your families and communities for discussions about racial injustice and inequality and find ways to take action. The resources are numerous. We encourage you to find them, listen, and learn.
In the end, it comes down to this - just care.
Please be well in these challenging times, friends. We care about you.
