A message from Chesapeake Conservancy's President and CEO Joel Dunn

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Today, we honor these powerful words spoken of Martin Luther King, Jr. by U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy: “with compassion and love.”

“…we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.”-Robert F. Kennedy, April 4, 1968, following the MLK’s assassination

The events of the last several days related to the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd cannot be left unaddressed. We grieve for Mr. Floyd and his family as well as all those that have been unjustly harmed and discriminated against due to the color of their skin. This issue pervades all worthy endeavors, including environmental conservation.

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We share MLK’s dream that one day we will live in a nation where people will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character and that we will live in an oasis of justice. But we are not there today, not yet. Everyone should abhor the injustice of what happened to Mr. George Floyd.

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We need to dedicate ourselves to compassion, love, and understanding, so that we can achieve peace, justice, and a high quality of life for everyone. Let’s dedicate ourselves to these ideas, creative protest, and true progress instead of physical violence. Getting to where Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy tried to guide us requires a recognition that our diversity is our strength, that we are all created equally, that being inclusive of everyone is our nation’s creed, and that we must strive for justice for everyone in our society.

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These elements must be implemented at our churches, courts, jobs, and our parks and open spaces. The struggle that Dr. King and others so brilliantly led continues in our country.

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We must live our lives with compassion and love.

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Feature Image by J. Albert Bowden, II