From the Directors of Threefold Educational Foundation
“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
— C. S. Lewis
The harsh reality of the continued toll of racism and inequality, magnified by recent events, is painfully resounding all around us, and must be heard. The directors of Threefold Educational Foundation express our solidarity with the Black community, and with people of color everywhere who continue to endure systemic racism and violations of their human freedom and rights.
Our Foundation’s mission states that we serve and advance cultural renewal in education, agriculture, the arts, science, religion, and social forms. The megaphone that C. S. Lewis refers to is waking us up to the urgency for this renewal, not just for some but for all. Anthroposophy and the work of Rudolf Steiner stands for the free human being, and the understanding that to live in true humanity, no one is free unless all are free.
We are coming to the time of year when there is more sunlight than ever: the summer solstice, followed by St. John’s Tide, a time to hear the voice of conscience crying in the wilderness. We know that in order for systems to change, human beings must change. And we hear this voice as a call pointing each one of us back to ourselves.
The Board of Directors has committed to enter individually and collectively into the work of undoing racism. We recognize that it is not enough to work quietly and inwardly. We feel called upon to collectively stand up and speak out against racism.
To that end, we start by acknowledging that there are some passages recorded in lectures about race by Rudolf Steiner that we agree are indefensible. The Threefold Board supports and affirms the Anthroposophical Society of America’s statement on diversity in declaring that we “explicitly reject any theory that can be attributed to Rudolf Steiner’s work that characterizes or judges individual human beings as superior or inferior based on race, gender, ethnic or other group identity.” The directors commit to do more work to directly confront these passages in light of where we stand today.
As we feel the moral obligation to do our part, we understand that we have a lot to learn. Our task now is to actively listen and learn; and then out of deeper understanding, take meaningful and purposeful steps to make our community and the world more equitable and just as we work to fulfill the mission of our organization.
Elizabeth Hall
President of the Board of Directors
Eric Silber
Executive Director
June 20, 2020