Sarah Everard, #StopAsianHate and the Fight for Equality: A message to our Kin.
This message was sent to all Kin + Carta employees. I am sharing it here, so other leaders can leverage our communications and planning in their own inclusion, diversity, equity and awareness (IDEA) initiatives.
Good morning everyone. I wanted to communicate some important information based on what I learned last week from our Kin; specifically around the recent tragedies in the UK and the US. Although we have addressed both of these issues on a regional level, I believe it is important we raise awareness of these tragedies globally and be clear on how we plan to address the ongoing injustice they represent.
First, to levelset everyone’s context:
On March 3rd, Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, left a friend’s home in the Clapham neighborhood of London at 9 p.m. to make her way back to her apartment in nearby Brixton. She chose well-lit streets and spoke with her boyfriend by phone. She did many of the things women are advised to do to improve their safety, yet she didn’t make it home. On March 12th her body was found in a wooded area in Kent. A 48-year-old police officer was arrested and charged with Sarah’s kidnapping and murder. Sarah’s death has become a stark reminder of the violence and harassment that haunts women all over the world, every day.
Last Tuesday evening in the US, a white man opened fire at an Asian American owned spa in Acworth, Georgia killing four people. He then drove 30 miles into Atlanta and killed four more people at two other Asian American owned spas. The eight victims who were killed at the two spas in Atlanta were identified as Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Sun Cha Kim, 69; Yong Ae Yue, 63; Xiaojie Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; and Paul Andre Michels, 54. Six of these victims were women of Asian descent. The perpetrator was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police said he was heading to Florida and intended to carry out more shootings at spas there. The shootings came amid a recent wave of attacks against individuals of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) descent that has coincided with the spread of the coronavirus.
These events have pointed out the need to evolve our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Awareness (IDEA) Strategic Plan to address these areas of our society’s white/male supremacy, while also demonstrating additional actions that need to be taken to hold true to our promise to be an anti-racist, anti-sexist organization.
Last week, our Employee Experience team in the UK organized a series of sharing sessions for our female-identifying Kin and their allies. I sat in on one of those sessions and listened to the harassment, violence and pain many of our colleagues have experienced in their lives. I also talked with several of our AAPI Kin in the Americas to better understand their experiences, how they were digesting the tragedy in Atlanta and how we might think about combating anti-Asian racism as an organization.
Our response to these tragedies needs to be two-fold: one of Intention and one of Impact. Impact will take time. It will take the form of iterating on our IDEA strategic plan and implementing new ways to bring education, awareness and empowerment to drive systemic change around these areas of social injustice. But Intention needs to be further communicated now, so that silence does not become our stance. And so I want to share with you what our intention as a firm is and ask you all for your support.
To our female-identifying Kin, I would like to take the liberty to speak on behalf of all of the male-identifying Kin at this company in saying, we must do better. 97% of you have experienced sexual abuse, sexual harassment and/or sexual discrimination, most of you more than once. We contribute to the burden you bear of feeling unsafe when you are out in public alone. We must do more to educate everyone on harassment’s many different forms; both conscious and unconscious. Not enough of us have stood up for you when we have witnessed harassment, disrespect or chauvinistic behavior directed toward you. We must do more to reflect upon our own internalized toxic masculinity. We have yet to truly address how much harder it is to succeed in leadership roles and progress your careers as women, and we have not done enough to level the playing field for everyone. We are committed to positive change.
At Kin + Carta, you have our commitment that you will never be construed as sexual objects. We are your Kin. Our job is to support and coach and empower one another. We are your allies. We will stand up alongside you. How we turn this Intention into Impact will be determined in the weeks and months to come. But today I want us all to be clear on Our Company’s intention.
Kin + Carta is a place where every individual, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or background, will always feel safe, empowered and equal.
Full stop.
To our Kin of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) heritage. We see you, we hear you. We are enraged and saddened by the unprovoked increases in violence and dehumanizing words directed at you, your elders and children because of your race. While we are angry alongside you, we must be committed to fighting with you too. The first step is to recognize we have much more to learn to understand what you are experiencing and how you are feeling. We are sorry we have not done enough here to make visible the challenges you have faced not just this past year but as a part of ongoing history. We are sorry that it took this level of violence to bring attention to this injustice. We must do more to foster an anti-racist stance and IDEA programming that is more inclusive of your experiences and identity. We are ready to stand with you. To set an example alongside you.
We also understand that you need time as a community here at Kin + Carta, to come together. We are committed to giving you a safe space to do that. As a first step, a private channel has been created by and for anyone who identifies as Asian and/or Pacific Islander. Please reach out to @XYZ for an invite to #kc-social-aapi-kin.
And to the API women, and all women of color, that find themselves at the intersection of these two horrible cross-roads; we understand that these challenges become exponentially more difficult for you. You have our commitment and support, first and foremost.
Over the coming weeks, we will continue to facilitate listening and planning sessions as inputs into the next iteration of our IDEA programs and strategic plan.
We are committed to standing and fighting racism and sexism in all of its forms. We are committed to drive systemic change by setting an example for other global organizations to follow.
Please do let me know if any part of this Intention is unclear. I implore you all to help be part of driving the Impact I know we can make by joining your local and global IDEA channels and communities.
Driving change means we all have to take responsibility for this violence. We all have to do our part to educate ourselves, to stop ignoring the problems and to start being an active part of the solution. Our mission is to make the world work better for everyone. Being an active anti-sexist and anti-racist Company is the foundation required to fulfill this mission. Let us honor the lives lost in these terrible tragedies by creating opportunities to set an example and drive meaningful change, together.