A statement on anti-racism from The Gottman Institute

The Gottman Institute is dedicated to strengthening love, compassion, trust, and commitment between human beings across the globe. We condemn all acts of racism and violence, particularly against the Black community. Black Lives Matter.

As an organization and as individuals, we commit to a path of learning, listening, and doing. We know we have many opportunities to do better. We are working as a team to uncover these opportunities and create action plans that demonstrate our commitment to embracing anti-racism as a core value.

Our team members, educators, partners, and community look to us for leadership, to share our expertise and knowledge, and to provide resources to help heal racial trauma in relationships. We aim to amplify the voices of Black researchers, clinicians, and content creators and to become a source of understanding, healing, and compassion. We have much to learn. Our minds and hearts are open and we are committed to doing the work.

A personal message from Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman, President and co-founder of The Gottman Institute

Once again we have witnessed racism in murderous action. Four policemen brutally killed an innocent black man – the last in a list of millions of murdered black innocents that extends back for centuries in this country. We at the Gottman Institute are heart-broken. We support those who are bravely and non-violently protesting in our streets. We support those who acknowledge and take responsibility for their own white privilege and the white supremacy we so easily take for granted. We applaud those who work to confront and reverse racism around them and within themselves. And we realize that change must begin with ourselves.

I am a white, cis-gendered Jewish woman of extreme privilege. I have greatly benefited from my whiteness, my upper middle-class upbringing and all the opportunities these conferred upon me. I have fought for civil rights throughout my life, but I also know that I too am racist as is my culture. I vow to continue working harder for increased self-awareness, to confront my own complacency, and to grow my own compassion for those whose suffering I can never fully understand. Let us all drop down and take a knee.

— Julie Gottman