It's Time to See Color and It's Time to Act

'I'm a black guy in a white part of my town. I just had a daughter, and it is the first time I've been able to go for a walk without a suit since I moved here. I don't own a suit for work. I own it to go around my neighborhood. I'm 6 ft tall, pretty big, black, and that scares people. I don't get the cops called on me when I'm walking with a suit. Now that I have a daughter, I can go out in normal clothes because having her with me makes me less threatening I think. People come up to me and say hi to ask how she's doing. They see me as safe. The other night, I went out without her and without my suit on, and the people who usually talk to me crossed the street. I don't think they recognized me.'

We are at a pivotal point in our history, and it shouldn't be a surprise, but it is. My friend in the story above grew up in the same neighborhood that I lived in for part of my 20s. I still have a hard time understanding how I lived geographically in the same area but somehow did not live in the same world. I'm from Minnesota, the center of the protests that have spread across the United States in the past week, and I'm grappling with the fact that I could walk next to my friend for years yet never live in the same world. By pretending that color didn't exist, I missed my chance to understand his lived experience. As I've learned over the past week from many friends, we NEED to see color. "I don't see color" is not acceptable. It ignores the lived experience of so many. It diminishes the experiences they have.

Who am I to speak up on this? I'm doing it precisely because I'm like many of those around me. We need to do better. I'm a white guy in tech and lived in many of the privileged places that have burned over the past few days. I grew up middle class and I didn't have to worry about a lot. I've always been empathetic and cared about others and when Ferguson happened in 2014, I retweeted calls for action and shared posts to Facebook calling for change. But I was a keyboard warrior then and I'm accepting that I was a keyboard warrior for quite some time with respect to the Black Lives Matter movement. I lived comfortably on the periphery, speaking up in ways that still allowed me to be safe, never really putting myself at risk. If you're like me, and I know many of you are, it is an uncomfortable truth to know we didn't do as much as we could have, and that after a few weeks our activism and voice died out with the news cycle.

I don't pretend to understand or be able to say "I understand" to many of the experiences I've read on LinkedIn in the past week, but I do know that their stories are extraordinarily powerful. I have a platform to speak, but it isn't my voice that will change your mind. Listen to the stories of those that live this every single day:

1. Living in Palo Alto I had to constantly wear my Stanford clothes around town to be treated decently and not as a threat. Also when pulled over by the police I always "accidentally" provide my Stanford student ID first when I "mean to" give my license. It definitely helped when I had 4 police cars and 6 cops pull me over for my tail light that went out .
2. I have learned how to deescalate situations, but in my case I have been overly nice by doing my best to answer questions about my background which at times only frightened people more. I am Black and Japanese and although it is unique and diverse, this on its own has been met with the most hostile ignorance. I have spent my life apologizing for my existence, and I am tired.
3. A former nightshift coworker (black) lived in Detroit and had to take a couple busses and ride a bike or walk to get to work. He would be in 3-5 cities during his 2+ hr commute each way. Often, he would be stopped in EVERY city. He made his commute 4-5 times a week! One evening, we caught a white guy stealing jackets. The cops told us and his victims, "He's a junky loser. If we drop him off at home, his dad will punish him worse than the justice system. What do you want to do?" While watching videos, a cop noticed my coworker walking in. The cop asked. "So, he really does work here?" I said yes and asked that he tell his coworkers that. (He still got questioned daily).
4. Read about the challenges of my friend Beau Walker and his wife who adopted a beautiful little girl: A Beautiful Daughter

The stories are endless. They are exhausting. They make me angry, sad, and embarrassed. Last night, I was so tired I found myself wanting to give up and cry. Then I realized, imagine you didn't have the option to "turn off the news". Imagine that you lived it EVERY SINGLE DAY. When we say we "don't see color" we are ignoring the experiences and realities that shape those of us around us. When we post black squares online and don't follow with action, we are taking advantage of the recognition of solidarity but the actions are hollow. As one of my friends in tech said, "show me the black square, then show me the receipts to show you did something."

It is a time for action. I've lived my life mostly divorced from the realities of those around me but that is no longer okay. You may follow me for data related things and that is fine, but realize that no matter how big the data, the world around is MUCH bigger. I cannot post about and discuss data without the realities of the world present. It just will not work.

I'm optimistic. I'm ready to fight. I wrote last night about why:

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You see data of every person you are connected with - education, jobs and skills but that tells such a small part of the story. I'm exhausted right now - but so hopeful about change precisely because of what doesn't show on profiles:

1. We see peoples' headlines but that misses the bigger picture: they are humans figuring things out, exhausted, frustrated, angry and wishing for a better world.

2. We see peoples' professional updates/achievements and inspirational posts. But what's going on in the other 23.5 hours of their day? There are few posts about suffering. Much of it we will never see. People are ready to fight against this struggle.

3. We see peoples' profile pictures, but that tells us only a little about them. Their smile might hide a history of being told they don't belong, being told to act a certain way, and having to 'play nice' with others.

4. We see peoples' skills but so many others are not listed: listener, activist, caretaker, mother, father that are far more important than a programming language.

5. We see peoples' likes/comments/engagement but forget they are so much more than that. They have big, deep lives.

People are speaking up. There are people behind the profile - our networks are far more than the skills, education and accomplishments. It'll be the people that create change.

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I fundamentally believe that people are good and that together we win. I'm ready to take action. I hope you'll join me. If you're not ready, talk to me. If you aren't sure how to do so, there are multiple paths. Start here.

CALL/EMAIL

Mayor of Minneapolis Jacob Frey at (612) 673-2100, and/or Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman at (612) 348-5550, and/or email citizeninfo@hennepin.us to demand that justice be serviced. Scripts and templates can be found on the ACLU Minnesota website. 

SIGN

Change.org petitions demanding that the involved officers be fired and charged. The petition seeking justice for George Floyd’s murder has been signed by over 10 million people - the most signed petition in the platform’s history.  

DONATE

The Black Lives Matter Global Network, the Equal Justice Initiative, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund: Each on the front lines of the fight for equality and justice.

The Minnesota Freedom Fund seeks to free those incarcerated while standing up for justice by paying bails for low-income individuals who cannot otherwise afford to pay bail. 

The Center for Policing Equity works to reduce inequitable policing with evidence-based approaches to social justice. 

George Floyd Memorial Fund to cover burial expenses, lodging and travel expenses for court proceedings and mental health counseling. A portion of the fund will also go towards the care and education of Mr. Floyd’s children. 

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Black Lives Matter.