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Friends, I write these words with a heavy heart. While most of us remain isolated in our homes, we also cannot escape the fact that our world—and our country specifically—is groaning with grief. We are heartbroken by all of it: the tragedy of lost lives, the injustice of racist acts continuing to go unpunished, the deep sorrow of a people who have been hurting, silenced and oppressed for centuries. Everywhere we turn, there is evidence of brokenness. We live in a fallen world and always have, but in recent days social media has helped turn a spotlight on much of it. As I wade through posts and laments, I am acutely aware that the pain and sorrow I feel in these days is only scratching the surface compared to the palpable pain and suffering the Black community has endured. There is a reason we only send out one newsletter each month, and it’s because we want you to feel like you can take your time reading it. That has never been more true than this month. Our desire at Coffee + Crumbs has always been to share stories that make mothers feel seen and heard. Out of a desire to both elevate Black voices and show our support for those hurting within our community, this newsletter exclusively features those stories. Additionally, we are highlighting books, educational resources, essays, products, and causes to support during this time. Whether you have been on a journey towards racial healing for a while, or are just now starting, we ask you to remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint. Please do not speed through these resources in one weekend and call it done. We packed this newsletter with enough content (and books) to fill up your summer, possibly the rest of your year and beyond. Please go slow. Pace yourself. Take your time. Allow space to process, to pray, to discuss with your friends. As a white writing team speaking to a predominantly white readership, we desperately want to do better as we move forward in all of these areas—starting with this newsletter, and in future newsletters, by featuring more content intentionally curated from communities of color. We strongly desire for Coffee + Crumbs to be a more inclusive space and are seeking better diversity and representation of all ethnicities across all of our mediums. We are actively working to feature women of color in our essays, freewrites, podcasts, and future team positions. We commit to continuing to listen, learn, and use this platform to elevate BIPOC voices. Because we do not want to wait for our next open submission window to put this into practice, we are opening a new submission window specifically for women of color now-August 31. Our mission at Coffee + Crumbs is to make all mothers feel safe, known, encouraged and loved. I am deeply sorry for ways we have failed at this in the past, and I beg for your grace as we work to do better moving forward. Thank you, as always, for being part of this community as we continue to learn and grow together. "You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove." - James 2:18 MSG In faith and in works, Ashlee and the C+C Team **If you are a woman of color and would like to speak with me directly on areas Coffee + Crumbs can improve, I would be honored to listen. My personal e-mail address is ashlee.gadd@gmail.com.
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