Fighting Racism

To say this past week has been filled with frustration, dismay, anger and outright shock would be an understatement. To watch a racist police officer slowly and painfully snuff the life out of another human being, George Floyd was horrifying; and to see officers standing by actively doing nothing to stop it from happening are unconscionable.

It’s heartbreaking to watch George’s daughter, Gianna, at the young age of 6 go on camera this week to say “Daddy changed the world”. It is discouraging that she will not get to experience all the moments a little girl should get to have with her Dad. Yet, it’s humbling that a child would have more perspective on the senseless loss of her father than many grown adults have. 

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated event; there are many, many more examples: Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Reason, Dominique Clayton, and the list goes on. Black Americans live day to day with prejudice; even when they don’t lose their lives, they experience the frustrating injustices of racism in incidents like Christian Cooper recently endured, or the more subtle instances often hidden in plain view. Most of us do not or have not experienced anything like this. 

I have wrestled all week with what to say and how to respond. As a father, a CEO, and as a human I feel an obligation to take a stand against racism, hatred, and violence in any form. I have seen many peers publish thoughtful, heartfelt statements and begin looking for ways to take tangible, proactive, and meaningful action. I have talked with co-workers, our executive team, friends, and family. I have been reading and thinking and watching.

As a company, we have always focused on being driven by our values, but I want to specifically say that we will not tolerate any type of racism or hatred of any kind, and we will actively seek out ways to be an ally to the black community. 

To state the obvious: racism, hatred, and violence in any form are wrong. I wish we had made more progress, but the words of Dr. Martin Luther King while sitting in Birmingham jail after a peaceful protest ring just as true today as they did almost 50 years ago when he wrote:

“I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”

‘Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly’. We are all feeling the effects. Many of us are wanting to do more, to help, to emphasize, and to move the ball forward in some meaningful way. As a company, we will start by taking a proactive stand against racism. We are keenly aware of how much we don’t know. We don’t have all the answers right now, but the executive team has been actively thinking about what steps we can take as an organization. 

One way we would like to start becoming more actively anti-racist is by creating space for more education and discussion around social justice and racism. These conversations can be uncomfortable but are so incredibly important. 

To start, we would like to purchase the book “So You Want To Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo for anyone at Limelight Health who is interested in reading it. We will be leading a multi-part book club, so we can discuss the themes together and explore more ways we can actively dismantle systemic racism. 

We are also actively looking at opportunities to donate (time, money, etc.) to causes that support social justice work. Even though we are a small, but growing company, we asked all of you in Q4 of 2019 who you wanted to support. As part of that recommendation and our commitment to ‘doing good’, we provided support to over 50 organizations and causes that you care about. 

We will do so again but want to focus those efforts to anti-racism causes. Some of the organizations that have been top of mind currently are Black Lives Matter, Black Girls Code, and The Loveland Foundation. That said, we would like to know what organizations you have been donating to and reading about so that we can have a wide impact. Please leave the name of any social justice organization we should be aware of in the comments below or respond back to me directly via this thread.

We will continue to focus on actively promoting diversity and inclusion here at Limelight Health. While it’s been something that’s been top of mind for many here already, we are now even more committed to amplifying that work by forming stronger partnerships with organizations that increase our exposure to talent of all races and backgrounds. We will also be continuing education here year-round, so we can ensure we’re building as safe and inclusive a culture as possible. 

While I certainly don’t have all the answers, I do know it’s important that we practice our company value of kaizen by committing to learning, speaking up, and taking action toward racial equality even after this media blitz has died down. I look forward to leaning into this cause together.