Until there is Justice and Equity for All

Dear Members of the EXP Family,

We at EXP are heartbroken by the senseless death of George Floyd and of so many others within the Black community. Our communities are reeling from the aftermath of these acts, which reflect the institutionalized, racialized violence that occurs daily in America. We, as a society, need to confront the lack of equity within our public systems, be they law enforcement, health and safety or education.

We stand in solidarity with the protests against racial injustice, hatred and police violence.

For the past 20 years, EXP has pursued the mission of preparing students of all ethnicities for better lives. The reason we press forward every day is because sadly all too often our students are not provided the equity and access they deserve by the systems in place.

Our students deserve an equal right to safety. They deserve equal access to opportunity, no matter what zip code they live in. Our students deserve to be seen as whole beings who matter and have value, regardless of the color of their skin, their gender, their sexual orientation, the language they speak or their country of origin.

We are deeply concerned about the racial injustices that have precipitated the recent events and the racial inequalities that permeate our society today. We acknowledge that in so many ways justice and equality are not available to all, especially people of color. We know that many of our students and their families have been victimized by the people whom they expect to protect and serve them.

We seek for our own EXP students the same fundamental rights demanded on the streets across our country. Justice. Safety. Equity.

Diversity, equity and inclusion are fundamental to EXP’s vision and mission. We believe that every high school student should have equal access to education and career opportunities that will help each student reach his or her full potential. EXP helps young people gain experience, unlock doors and build the confidence they need to succeed in school, career and life. By bringing industry and schools together, we deliver career exploration, career readiness, mentoring, and internship opportunities (among other things) to students in underserved communities.

To effectively deliver our mission, EXP believes that we must reduce the social and economic barriers that too often limit access to high potential careers and higher education. To that end, EXP has been and will always be, committed to delivering opportunities to students in communities of color. In doing so, we believe that we can change how society prepares students for life, bring genuine opportunity to every young person we can reach, and build a skilled and diverse future workforce. Now more than ever, there is a need for a focus on and deep investment in education and youth programs. We need to actively promote less intervention and more prevention.

We are here to listen, support and stand together with the people who are demanding more of their communities and are actively working to provide access and opportunity to marginalized communities and individuals. We are proud that EXP is part of the process of change. Our students, and our country, demand it.

Sincerely,

Amy Grat, CEO
On behalf of EXP Staff

Tara Voss, Chair of the Board
On behalf of EXP’s Board and Stakeholders