Many of us are still processing the outcome of last week’s election. For many in our community, the vote feels like an endorsement, active or tacit, of some of the election’s worst rhetoric. We may be wondering how deeply some of the basest sentiments unleashed in the last year permeate the social fabric of our nation. And we may be fearful for our families, our neighbors, and the activists who fight for a more just, equitable and sustainable world.

In this tumultuous time, even as we search for signs of what is to come, we must redouble our commitment to support and protect those on the front lines of social change. In the coming days, weeks and months, we will create and tap into spaces for EPIP members, partners and allies to assess the current state of our nation, and to understand the implications of the election for our work. Together, we will incorporate those findings into the strategic plan we are already in the process of developing. We will also share resources that our partners are assembling to help us understand this new landscape.

Even as we mobilize, we must also care for ourselves and each other. This Friday at noon Eastern Time, we will host an open line for members to share their thoughts, feelings, reflections and questions (you can RSVP here). Many of our chapters are holding spaces to process as well. Be sure to stay connected to your communities during this difficult moment.

Together, we will make sense of this moment and determine our role in advancing -- and where necessary, fighting for -- the rights, dignity of our communities in all their diversity. Let us not lose faith that, in the words of Dr. King, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

-Tamir