The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel recently issued the following statement:

ACTEC is a non-partisan, apolitical organization. However, the College considers the historical, continuing, and devastating impact of institutionalized racism against people of color in our society to be a humanitarian, rather than a political issue. Individually and collectively, we will never, and should never, forget the shocking video images of the brutal murder, now formally charged, of George Floyd. ACTEC will not be silent in the face of these events but will state here affirmatively: ACTEC condemns racism in all its forms. ACTEC will continue to strive to be, and publicly commits to be, anti-racist. ACTEC agrees that as we strive to be an anti-racist society, we cannot attain that goal without acknowledging that Black lives matter.

ACTEC acknowledges that, in a culture and society where white supremacy has been institutionalized, systemic racism exists; therefore, a failure to embrace strong anti-racist practices and policies will merely perpetuate racism. While we remain committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive environment, we too must do more as a College. We pledge to take additional anti-racist actions, and we encourage all ACTEC Fellows to actively strive to eliminate all forms of racism in their personal and professional lives. ACTEC acknowledges and accepts that, in time, we all will be judged not only by our words, but also by our actions.