Renewing Our Focus on Combatting Racism and Injustice: A Letter to Evolent Employees

Like millions of other Americans, I have felt overwhelmed by the pain, anger and sadness on display as Americans protested racism and discrimination in their communities this past week. We all can play a part in addressing these injustices and helping our country heal. Below is a letter I wrote to our employees at Evolent Health this past weekend that I want to share transparently with others in the industry, our partners, my own network, and beyond. A few sentences have been lightly edited for clarity.   

Evolenteers,

In the last week, protests across the country have been raging after George Floyd, an African-American man, died as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. It is evident that Mr. Floyd was treated brutally, without regard to his welfare or the respect and dignity due to all peoples. His death is yet another senseless loss of life—one that reflects deeply ingrained, long-standing injustices and divisions within our society. The protestors—across a wide range of communities, age groups and races—are sad, full of anger and deeply hurting.   

Today, it is important that we acknowledge and condemn the continued events of hatred, racism, oppression and injustice in the U.S., highlighted by the recent killings of Mr. Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others. I am outraged and heartbroken by the ongoing attacks against the black community, by increased anti-Asian sentiment as it relates to the coronavirus pandemic, and by the ongoing hostility and hatred displayed toward immigration and people from different backgrounds and beliefs who have chosen to live and raise their families in America. 

I want to add my voice to the conversation and acknowledge that this is not a time for anyone, especially me as a leader and white male, to remain silent. There is no place in our world for hatred, racism and discrimination, and I can only imagine how traumatic this is for the communities directly impacted. I encourage us to join together to confront the issues and speak out against injustice. At times, this topic can feel too difficult and complicated to tackle, but I know that change often starts small, at home and in our local communities, and we must each ask ourselves what we can do to be part of the solution. 

There simply isn’t a neutral position on racism.

Evolent at its core stands for elevating the health of the nation and making the communities we serve better places through a holistic view of “health” that acknowledges the impact of racism and discrimination on outcomes. Our values are about open-mindedness, listening, compassion and inclusion. It is important that we put this into practice and take this moment to acknowledge and talk about what is happening around us. Race and discrimination are uncomfortable topics, and yet we all need to push out of our comfort zones to listen to each other’s perspectives, as well as those of the people in the communities that we serve.

Across the past several weeks, we have put Evolent’s “Start by Listening” value to work in how we’ve responded to the pandemic and how we’ve supported each other through an incredibly turbulent time. Our company culture and belief in self-expression and inclusion represent the spirit of how we behave with each other as teammates and how we show up for our partners. We’ve been checking in on each other’s well-being throughout the past 10 weeks of this pandemic and, this week, I ask that your teams initiate respectful group discussions on the topic of racial injustice as well. Hopefully, our dialogue can help spark understanding and begin to create the type of environment and change we want to see in our world. 

As an organization that prides itself on impacting the communities that we serve, we have a platform and, I believe, a duty to speak up and engage the world around us. Accordingly, Evolent plans to take immediate action to bring more structure and focus to our philanthropic efforts, encouraging community volunteerism and supporting organizations that are committed to addressing racial inequity and fundamental injustices in society. We also need to take a closer look at all the ways we support diversity and inclusion within our own company. We can only grow together by having conversations based on the courage of our convictions and cultivating an environment where all people feel empowered to be their true selves, able to freely express their ideas and concerns. As always, I encourage you to share your thoughts directly or through an anonymous survey we plan to distribute this week.

Thank you for listening. I recognize this is only the start of an ongoing and necessary dialogue. We need to be better and we can truly set the standard for all of our respective communities. Please continue to stay safe and let’s continue to take care of each other.

Sincerely yours,

Frank Williams Chief Executive Officer