Eight.Forty.Six.

As a first-generation immigrant who is proud to call America home, I watched the unspeakable horror of a man’s life being squeezed out of him in broad daylight in public on May 25 in Minneapolis, MN. In the aftermath, I watched policemen armed like military commandos take on unarmed, peaceful protesters across cities. Like many among you, I chafed at the thought of our frontline healthcare workers without adequate PPE to protect themselves against a real enemy: COVID-19. 

What can a small company with a handful of employees do to make a difference? I don’t have a great answer, but I do know that our words and actions matter, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant they may be. We are opposed to racism and bias, especially bias based on religious affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. As the father of two young women whose future hangs in the balance, I also support the peaceful protesters seeking large-scale reform and demanding an end to racism and other forms of injustice.

To remain silent is to be complicit in the perpetuation of systemic injustice. We will speak up. And yes, we will lend teeth to our voice with our wallets.

This past week, we indefinitely suspended our ad spending on one of the major social media platforms. We did so because we concluded they were complicit in the deliberate spread of misinformation that undermines our democracy and disproportionately affects the most vulnerable sections of our society. I’m sure the loss of a few dollars in revenue from a company like mine won’t make a difference to the company’s financial performance in the short term. However, societal change doesn’t come about as a big bang but more as an inter-generational shift. If we have to dig in for the long haul, so be it. We realize we have to dance with the devil sometimes; we don't have to sell our souls to them. Often, change is best achieved from within a system than outside it. We will be more careful than ever in assessing the societal impact of the choices we make and the value systems we uphold.

There are other ways to go about this as well. I recently started performing a series of acoustic concerts on my driveway for my neighbors to provide relief from the tedium of the extended lockdown, compounded more recently by the nationwide protests against George Floyd’s murder that have hurt local businesses everywhere at the exact moment that they needed to re-open. I call these the Social Distance String Concerts. I sing songs of love, loss, hope, peace, and justice.

This past weekend, sixty of my neighbors joined the gathering, carefully maintaining social distance. Some of them got together and signed a giant thank you poster that they gave to me at the end of the concert. My neighbor Dave wrote me a note afterward, which read  “Music will help this country come together again .” I will be performing more driveway concerts through the summer. If you happen to find yourself in Naperville, IL during this time, you’re invited to join.

#BLM