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              Letters to the EditorLincoln Daily News
 601 Keokuk St.
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            |  To the editor: It is the 
			mission of Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois (CAPCIL) 
			to empower persons with low income and aged by creating and 
			implementing poverty fighting initiatives for those in crisis and 
			those that endeavor a lifetime of lasting independence. Currently we 
			find ourselves amid two crises that that have dramatic physical and 
			social implications. As we continue to battle the COVID-19 health 
			pandemic, we are also acutely aware that the conversation of race 
			and its role in our societal interactions and civil systems is an 
			issue of grave importance. CAPCIL joins this conversation by uniting 
			with local, state, and national leaders in denouncing discrimination 
			of any kind on the basis of race. We also join our leaders in 
			denouncing lawlessness and campaigns for anarchy. They are equal in 
			their destruction to the fabric of our society and counterintuitive 
			to the CAPCIL’s objective of partnering to find solutions that raise 
			all residents of our communities. 
			
			 
 The wisdom found in our rich and colorful history reminds us that at 
			our core, we as Americans value all people, and that, “…all 
			men/women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator 
			with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, 
			and the pursuit of happiness.”(US Declaration of Independence, 1776) 
			While we wholly believe that these rights are absolute in nature, 
			CAPCIL also acknowledges that our understanding of these sentiments 
			have evolved for the better over time. These principles are not 
			inherently or systemically racist.
 
            [to top of second column in this letter] | 
            
			 
            These are inclusive and freeing ideals that belong to 
			all Americans and transcend the daily news cycle. Today we are 
			engaging in uncomfortable conversations around the dinner table, in 
			our places of business, at the neighborhood coffee shop, in our 
			classrooms, and within our public offices. These complicated 
			conversations are nurturing a better understanding of how we can and 
			must continue our traditions of celebrating both our differences and 
			commonalities as one people. That is good for us. It is good for our 
			communities and all those who live in them.
 Community Action envisions a resilient community where we work as 
			collaborators to raise up the marginalized and vulnerable 
			populations. We advocate for an intentional and planned devotion of 
			time and resources. Helping people, changing lives is our promise. 
			That promise doesn’t change with skin color, zip code, educational 
			attainment, gender, disability, or religious beliefs. But we cannot 
			achieve this great feat through divisiveness and disunity. CAPCIL 
			chooses to take this moment to lead, to love one another, to listen 
			and to speak.
 
 CAPCIL Leadership Team
 [Posted 
            
			jULY 11, 
			2020]
             
            
            Click here to send a note to the editor about this letter.
			 
            
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