BLACK LIVES MATTER

“If I were to remain silent, I’d be guilty of complicity.”
― Albert Einstein

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

These words start a chapter in American history that fundamentally changed the world.  The idea that individuals are equal and endowed with inalienable rights by their creator.  Life.  Liberty. The Right to pursue Happiness. What followed was an extraordinary uprising by a group of people to gain their independence and take hold of their rights to live as equals.  They understood the importance of standing up to the status quo and many gave their lives for it. 

But theirs was an incomplete victory.

Black people in the United States have never known equality.  At the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence the founders did not recognize anyone but white male landowners as worthy, and this is their single greatest failure.  This travesty of thinking has allowed systematic injustice to continue for the nearly 244 years since the start of the American fight for independence – a fight that continues today and must continue until ALL Americans fully, equally, and unquestionably experience the rights and protections guaranteed in our Constitution.

Today the facts are clear: Black Americans, by percentage of the population, are far more likely to be punished harder, longer, and with less due process than white Americans.  As a result, they are more likely to lose access to the other rights we hold dear – including those outlined in the Bill of Rights. They’re also more likely to:

*Lose the right to vote.

*Experience brutal treatment at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve.

*Receive harsher sentencing and less effective counsel than their White counterparts.

*Die or suffer injuries during arrests.

So I want to make sure our message is clear: Excel Technologies stands with the Black community in the fight against the systematic injustice that began long before this country was a country.  It is long past time for us to make real that ALL are created equal.

Injustice flourishes in dark.  We can, and should, take action – and that action starts with breaking our silence and being willing to amplify the voices begging us to hear them.   

Black Lives Matter.