#BlackLivesMatter

We are taking the time to listen to, learn from and engage in the important conversations going on within our society around racism. As an organization we typically are not a part of political discussions but the call for deep change within the very bones of our society is one to which we all must respond.

The sewing community we serve is a quilt of many different cultures. In service, we are careful to listen to the needs of those requesting machines, reminding ourselves that we cannot possibly know the experience of others unless we listen. And so we listen carefully, doing our best not to impose our own ideas about what we think a group needs, rather relying on the group to help us understand how to serve them.

We are challenging our own thinking while striving to recognize and address our unconscious biases. We are educating ourselves by listening to the voices of the Black community. We must call out the structure of white privilege that is woven throughout our society: identify it, name it and work to dismantle it.

The Sewing Machine Project has developed an incredible community over our 15 years and we celebrate the sewers we serve as well as our supporters who see the beauty in creating change through sewing. We see diverse groups sitting together to sew and finding their commonality. We have the privilege to see sewing change lives.

But until all lives have an equal voice and place in our society, there will be work to do.  We pledge to educate ourselves and to apply what we learn to The Sewing Machine Project. We pledge to listen, knowing there is always room to do better.

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