A Letter from TASC President Pamela F. Rodriguez

During these days of great sorrow and anger as the cumulative pain of injustice is overflowing across the country, it is wrong to stay silent. Let me say clearly for TASC: we oppose racism in all its forms. 

How we oppose racism is the question we ask ourselves continually. It's something we strive to work on with intention, and we know we still have very far to go.

TASC was founded on the ideals of social justice; we were a response to racist drug policies that targeted Black communities. We know our work is a drop in the bucket against a tide of decades of “tough on crime” policies—and we know that phrase to be code for arresting and locking up people of color. (If you question that, then I’d ask you to consider if there’s been a massive flood of young white people into our jails and prisons as opioids have ravaged white communities over the past decade.)

And so, first and foremost, we work every single day at TASC to divert people away from a justice system that disproportionately arrests and incarcerates Black people. We advocate for individuals as they’re leaving jails and prisons. We help people get addiction treatment and whatever they may need so they can return to their families and communities. We reunite families that have been separated not just because of substance use disorders, but by public systems that have embedded barriers to health and healing.

We work for fair and equitable policies that reverse the disproportionate harms inflicted on communities of color. Drug laws, employment laws, housing policies—all these and more have been written and enforced in ways that create a cascade of injustices. We are committed to asking the right questions. One of our first questions with any proposed policy is, “What is the racial impact?”

TASC is more than an organization. We are a collection of individuals deeply committed to our mission of creating a healthier, safer, more just society.

That journey may look different for each of us, but we are on this journey together. We work in direct services, in policy, and in partnership initiatives to advance knowledge and understanding. Internally, one of our commitments is to better understand and confront structural racism and injustice, and to recognize and confront our own internalized biases. We strive to be brave and hold ourselves accountable.  

We know that without justice, there is no peace. When injustice happens over and over and over again, people lose hope. As we mourn the murders of George Floyd and countless others killed by racism, we hold to the hope we see in images of police and protesters of different races and colors kneeling peacefully together. We can and we must do even more.

With hope in our hearts and with even greater resolve, we will continue to strive for justice. Thank you for doing this important work with us.

Pam Rodriguez
TASC President and CEO