Happy Friday to all of our readers. It was our intent to post a book review today, but in light of recent events, we here at ACR have chosen to use our platform to express support for the Black Lives Matter movement, the protesters, and the defunding, demilitarizing, and dismantling of police departments in the name of racial justice and respect for human life. The country in which we live has enormous potential for greatness, but that potential will never be realized so long as our institutions remain so utterly riddled with bigotry and corruption. Worse, that bigotry and corruption are, and always have been, held up by a significant portion of people as the meaning of that greatness. These undeniable realities of American life must be opposed, without hesitation or qualification, by any means necessary.
Black lives matter.
We are donating to several organizations that protect Black lives, that protect the rights and health of protesters, and that keep the resistance strong in courtrooms, jails, and advocacy groups. We are, health permitting, marching and demonstrating alongside protesters here in Los Angeles where we are based (check out @project_846, a protest led by our poetry editor Janice Sapigao and her husband). We admit to our own inadequacies and will continue to improve, increasing our engagement with Black authors and Black publishers. We will not be silent or complicit in the face of this institutional malignancy. We add what strength we have to the fight.
Black lives matter.
We are not saying or doing these things to self-aggrandize, or out of some perceived cultural or corporate pressure. We recognize that inaction is action, that neutrality is a choice, and that silence in the face of injustice is consent. Our mission at ACR has always been, and will continue to be, sharing literature not only for the joy of art but for the immeasurable value of engaging with new perspectives. To not engage now would be a betrayal of that mission, and of the people fighting every day for hope, love, and peace. Thank you for your time, for your support of our work, and, most importantly, for the efforts you have made and will make in these trying times.
Black lives matter.
