2024 Voices of Conscience
1
Sonya Massey

They need to be prosecuted to the highest extend of the law. . . . We need people, especially our own people, to stand up or nothing changes.

— Tiara Standage, founder of Springfield, Illinois social-service agency, Intricate Minds. The Illinois Times

“Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman, should be alive today. . . . Sonya’s family deserves justice. I am heartbroken for her children and her entire family as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”

— President Joe Biden, The 19th News
action shot of a black woman, her braided in long cornrows, holding a sign while protesting in front of a domed government building
action shot of a black woman, her braided in long cornrows, holding a sign while protesting in front of a domed government building
2
Dr. Earle Fisher

This is not about money. This is about ideology. This is about political power. This is about people who are hell-bent on maintaining racial and economic inequities across the state and they are scared to death that the truth would come out. So, they don’t want anybody to study it.”

— Earle Fisher, The Tri-State Defender, Jan. 17, 2024

Lawmakers Trying to Stop the Descendants of Slaves from Studying Reparations in Tenn, but Black Preacher Fighting This Nonsense.

1
Miami Heat

The false narrative surrounding them is hurtful and offensive and has sadly made innocent people targets of hateful speech and physical threats…Our Haitian employees, fans and friends deserve better.” “Miami Heat decry threats and ‘hateful speech’ aimed at Haitian immigrants,

— David K. Li, Madelyn Urabe and Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, Sept. 16, 2024.
low cropped view of a hand holding a basketball with a hoop out of focus in the background
close up of a “Black Owned Business” sign hanging in a shoppe window
1
Arian Simone

From the moment the lawsuit was filed, I pledged to stand firm in helping and empowering women of color entrepreneurs in need. . . . Our overarching mission remains focused on helping and empowering entrepreneurs who have have been historically overlooked in the venture capital marketplace.

— Arian Simone, co-founder of The Fearless Fund after being forced to end business grants for black women. The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
1
Patrice Simms

Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison black and brown communities for generations, only to now have one court give it a permanent free pass to abandon [their] responsibilities. . . .Louisiana’s residents, its environmental justice communities, deserve the same Title VI protections as the rest of the nation.

— Patrice Simms, Vice-President for Healthy Communities, EarthJustice. The Louisiana Illuminator.
wide drone view of an industrial plant