The Foundry is a makerspace and business incubator, a place of possibility. If you have a dream, we can help with the skills, tools or space to realize it. The Foundry works because it is a place where people of all backgrounds -- young, old, black, brown or white -- can come together to become entrepreneurs and makers. With that said, we felt it important to take a stand along with so many others to denounce the senseless murder of George Floyd and countless others.

We recognize that as human beings we all have different circumstances and experiences. That is something we celebrate. However, we must acknowledge that not every human being has the same access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We acknowledge this is wrong. The Foundry, as a member of the community we serve, must speak out to ensure that we shine a light on the deliberate actions designed to perpetuate the notion that freedom is for some, and not for others. Our silence makes us complicit.

More importantly, we must acknowledge that more must be done. In order to initiate substantive change, our organization vows to look more deeply within. We will ask ourselves: how far are we willing to go to combat systemic racism? What role can we play, individually and collectively, to undo 400 years of injustice? We can not answer those questions for others, but we as an organization must commit to answering those questions for ourselves.

In the meantime, as always, The Foundry’s team and board of directors offer our space, tools and talent for people to explore and make their ideas and dreams a reality. We stand in support of our staff, volunteers, students, and families of the black community who experience daily assaults to their humanity. If we are not there yet, we promise to challenge and eradicate every atom of systematic racism that prevents anyone from feeling free within our walls. And then, through hard work and dedication, we will push our efforts beyond The Foundry and challenge notions of inequity in any space we find ourselves.

Sincerely,

Megan McNally
Executive Director

Trina Burruss
Board President