President Lynn Sures’ Letter of Support for Black Lives Matter and BIPOC Communities

This is a time of grief, fear and outrage. The call of Black Lives Matter has at last compelled many Americans of diverse identities to listen in earnest; and to join local, national and international protests against the egregious failure of the United States government to protect a large and integral component of the nation’s citizenry.

We, the NAHP, are a community of papermakers, artists, and supporters of the craft of papermaking. When I took office two years ago, the current Board of Directors began to scrutinize the makeup of our own organization’s membership and directors. An organization of people united by paper is strongest when any people who love to make paper, make art, do research, or conduct scholarship, can all realistically find a seat at the papermaking table.

As an organization of mild papermakers, artists and scholars, we offer our solidarity and our support, to join the raised voices of American citizens who will not tolerate systematic persecution and disregard. We call for all papermakers in our community of makers and researchers to support with their checkbooks the many widely-known organizations that can help the gathering movement for justice; and to take the time to read the highly publicized books written by Black authors on Black history in the US. We call for every papermaker to reflect on the fact that there can be no peace without justice, that we must say the names of those murdered for being Black, that Black Lives Matter.

—Lynn Sures, President
June 2020