An Open Letter

Each new day this year seems to bring an additional something to grieve, and the last week has made many emotions raw. And yet, so much of these emotions are not new.

Black Lives Matter. It seems like a thing that should not need saying, and yet History bears witness to example after example of their fight to even stay alive. Too many are lost to that fight, and that is unacceptable. With heavy hearts, we support the protesters who take to the streets to give voice to their pain and to those they have lost.

It’s just windows. It’s just bricks.... As long as we’re still breathing, we can rebuild Chicago from any fire. But you can’t “fix” dead.

So, we are taking the time to acknowledge these voices and reconfirm our commitment to building an inclusive, sustainable, ethical community in the garment industry.

As a small organization with limited resources, there’s never enough time in the day for everything we try to accomplish. But we hope that our everyday actions speak louder than any words we could come up with.

With love, and our hearts and ears open,

Apparel Industry Board, Inc & Apparel Industry Foundation, Inc

If you are looking for ways to support in general, we recommend two organizations, to start:

My Block, My Hood, My City

@myblockmyhoodmycity

Black Owned Chicago

@officialblackownedchicago