Raising Awareness about Racism and Civil Rights

For over two decades at Arcosanti, The Cosanti Foundation has celebrated Juneteenth with performances, concerts, and programming to celebrate and draw attention to the historic and profound significance of this day. We pledge to continue listening, learning, and identifying the steps we can take to continue our commitment to the diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The Cosanti Foundation strives to be inclusive and accessible, and yet we know that saying so is not enough. We know that we can do better. We know that we must commit to change, and as we do not have the answers, we must first listen and learn. Moreover, we listen and learn as a pathway to taking meaningful action. We condemn the dehumanizing acts of aggression, systemic and institutional racism and oppression that impacts communities of color and affects us all.

At Cosanti and Arcosanti we have always stood for the radical reorganization of systems that are not working in the world. There cannot be a more urgent example of a system in need of reform than this one. And there cannot be a more urgent time to act than now. Taking action has been the reason that, for fifty years, thousands of people have come to the urban laboratory. They saw injustice in the world and came here to build a better model for the world. To be true to our mission, we must live up to this promise as a voice – a catalyst – of this universal call for justice.

We will take action. We will continue listening to our employees, our volunteers, our alumni and our community to find the actions we can take which will have meaningful impact. This will require many actions now and in the future. We must be committed to contributing to the cause for as long as it takes. We will not be satisfied until the result of standing by people of color means that equality, justice and human respect will be reality for us all.