This weekend, the Catholic Committee of Appalachia releases a Statement of Commitment to Anti-Racist Action in the days following the racist executions of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers and the eruption of anti-racist protests across the nation and the world.

The statement, approved by the CCA Board of Directors, echoes a 2014 Statement on Systemic Racism and Police Violence Against People of Color which insisted that “Black Lives Matter and that people of faith cannot merely keep silence at the foot of the crosses of our crucified sisters and brothers,” but states that “this current historical moment compels us further to make additional demands for this society and for our church, and to make deeper commitments on the part of CCA.”

As our nation, region, and church celebrate a number of important holidays this weekend—Juneteenth, West Virginia Day, and the Catholic holy days of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary⁠—CCA offers this statement to further our reflection on what it means to be Appalachian and Catholic in a way that centers Black voices in our region and in our church. Black Lives Matter.

"Together, we commit to continued education, action, and transformation as individuals and as an organization. We strive for real solidarity with Black lives. We ask our members, the people of the Appalachian region, and all communities of faith to hold us accountable to these commitments."

Read the entire statement here.