Stryker heirs donate $10m to support lynching memorial

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) heirs Pat and Jon Stryker are donating $10 million to support a national memorial to the victims of racial terror lynchings, according to an MLive report.

Each sibling is donating $5 million in honor of their late father, Lee Stryker, according to the report. Donations will help support the Equal Justice Initiative’s campaign looking to establish “The Memorial to Peace and Justice,” which memorializes victims of racial terror lynchings in the US, as well as a racial justice museum.

“We are pleased to make this donation in honor of our father, Lee Stryker,” Pat and Jon Stryker said in a written statement, according to MLive. “Dad believed strongly in justice and equality and through his words and deeds taught us those values from the earliest age. He would be humbled to know that this gift will help to erect an essential and long-overdue memorial. Our hope is that through this memorial we can acknowledge our country’s history of brutal racial violence, and that increased visibility can help to inform present-day discussions of race relations.”

The Equal Justice Initiative is $5 million away from full funding for both the museum and memorial, with tentative openings slated for 2017 and 2018, respectively.

“We are deeply moved by this extraordinary gift by the Stryker siblings. Pat and Jon have committed themselves to social justice and human rights and it is energizing and affirming to witness their commitment and have their support. We are determined to help our nation recover from a history of racial injustice and believe these cultural projects are critically important at a time when the legacy of racial bias still persists. Because of the Strykers we can make an enormous step forward,” EJI founder & exec director Bryan Stevenson said in a written statement, according to MLive.

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