Friend,

This spring, the literal and figurative headwinds we’ve faced in our region and beyond have been strong, unpredictable, and downright dangerous. Yet, even with the strong winds coming from every which direction, we gotta keep going outside and leaning into the work of making progress. The forces we’ve been up against are mighty and well-established, and our push for real change will require a collective and sustained effort.

As Angela Davis said, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” 

Last week, we were proud to sponsor Hispanic Capitol Day, a gathering dedicated to raising awareness, advocating for policy change, and ensuring that Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx voices are heard at every level of government. At a time when harmful legislation threatens immigrant rights, access to education, and economic opportunity, staying silent is not an option. Our collective responsibility is to make Missouri a place that welcomes all people and values the brilliance, contributions, and humanity of Hispanic and immigrant communities.

Last week, we were also thrilled to host our first Community Wealth Action Group meeting of the year to steward our body of work to close the racial wealth gap by democratizing our economy via worker ownership and better benefits for workers and their families.

The headwinds may be fierce, and we may be on the horizon of facing many seasons of downpours, clouds, and blizzards that try to knock us off our feet. But, now, more than ever, we must be as forceful as the systems working against our communities.

We can do so by creating our own powerful storm of St. Louisans that fiercely drive forward our shared vision of making childcare a civil right, closing the racial wealth gap, and protecting the wellbeing of every family that calls our region home.