News & Stories

The Loppet Condemns Racism and Is Committed to Taking Action to Address It

Loppet Community and Friends:

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Loppet staff, volunteers, and board members have been searching our souls, grieving, reflecting and planning. We know that our community is at an important crossroad, and we cannot be silent in this moment.

The Loppet Foundation condemns the racist systems, institutions, and norms that oppress and criminalize our black and brown neighbors — and we want to be clear in our stance: Black Lives Matter! We will work with our community to pursue justice, reform, and hope.

As you may know, our mission is to create a shared passion for year-round outdoor adventure in the Minneapolis area, focusing on underserved youth and families. We are proud of the work we’ve done to advance this mission over the past 18 years. But we also realize that we must do more to address and eradicate racism and injustice in our community.

What does this mean in practice? We don’t have all the answers yet, but we know a few of our next steps. We will stand with our partners at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and cease use of the Minneapolis Police Department in connection with Loppet events. We will develop a more robust leadership program to create more opportunities for youth of color to become community and industry leaders. And we will continually evaluate our youth programming to ensure that it effectively serves members of our North Minneapolis community and supports youth of color.

We understand that the Loppet is a small piece of a much larger puzzle when it comes to eradicating institutional racism. But we also know that it will take our community’s institutions, as well as each of us individually, working together toward justice to heal our community. We recognize our role, and we are committed to this long and challenging journey. You are part of this commitment. Please share your thoughts, concerns, hopes, and ideas with me, and join me in committing to not just do better, but to hold each other accountable for doing better.

— John and the entire Loppet Foundation Team

John Munger
Executive Director
The Loppet Foundation