In this time of deep pain, frustration, anxiety, and anger, we at the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance stand with protesters around the country who are crying out for change. They are right. Our country is long overdue for its institutions and systems to recognize and reflect this fundamental truth: Black Lives Matter.

Centuries of systemic racism have brought us here. Racism that is deeply ingrained in an economic system that privileges shareholders over stakeholders and a political economy that has hollowed out and abandoned so many urban, rural, and tribal communities.

We continue to believe that impact investors can contribute greatly to efforts to break down these structures so infected with racism, and we must do so in partnership with Black and Brown communities. But that is not enough.

We, as impact investors, must question our own complicity in the division of power, access, and wealth. Doing so will prepare us to step in and step up, taking the actions that will help move us toward our shared goal: social, economic, and environmental equality and justice for all.