Silence is No Longer an Option
Laurent Pierre, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Global Customer Support @ Precisely | Global CX Executive | Head of Customer Experience | CX Strategy | Employee Experiences | Leadership Excellence
As a Haitian-American son, husband, father of six, brother, nephew, cousin and uncle to many, topics such as systemic racism, racial discrimination and injustice, police brutality, social inequality are economic inequality are all very active and common discussions in our family. The disturbing videos, images and stories of unarmed black men and women being disproportionately hunted and killed unnecessarily or being profiled because of being “out of place or looking suspicious” – while driving, while working, while shopping, while taking a walk or simply trying to enter your home after a long day at work have become the norm on the nightly news. However, let us be clear that this is 100% unacceptable.
The anger, sadness, frustration, and anguish felt as we watch the painful videos of Ahmed Aubrey, and George Floyd brought flashbacks of Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice and many others who have been killed before them.
In this moment in our country, it is important each one of us play a part in solutioning the social, economic, and racial problems that have plagued this country for far too long. Staying silent is not an option if you care about your fellow brothers and sisters in this society. As Dr. Martin Luther King said: "There comes a time when silence is betrayal." There are many organizations and public policy makers focused on driving meaningful change in key areas such as criminal justice reform, poverty alleviation, healthcare inequality, food insecurity, affordable housing issues, education access, and access to technology where we can get involved, as there is obviously still a lot of work to be accomplished.
Also, whether you are coaching a colleague who is dealing with constant microaggressions at work or you are witnessing someone being mistreated or you have an opportunity to be a safe zone of conversation or a place of refuge, we must all do our part and engage with our fellow brothers and sisters.
Please do not be deterred or discouraged by the events that are unfolding around the country but use it as an opportunity to get involved in your community. Use your God given talents and blessings to be a coach or mentor, donate to charitable organization of your choice within your community, work with your employer sponsored programs to lift up communities through access to employment opportunities, education programs, grants for small businesses or access to technology to drive long-lasting economic impact. Let’s all do our part to band together during these trying times to help one another, one citizen at a time. Lead by example. It starts with you.
Stay safe. Be strong. Let's persevere together.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - MLK
Consultant, Educator & Coach for Beauty Pros | Master Color Expert & Bespoke Hair Artistry for High Achieving Women
4 年Thank you for sharing, challenging and encouraging us to all find a way to be active and NOT silent! Well said indeed cuz!
Artificial Intelligence Engineer at IBM
4 年All lives matter!
Versatile self-starter Cloud, Data, AI Technologist ~ 15 yrs leader driving change, producing best products
4 年Thank you Laurent. Your call is one we should all follow. You are channeling the spirit of "the better angels of our nature" as Lincoln's words are today more relevant that ever!!
Corporate Services
4 年Laurent, thank you for your post. It is very helpful at this time for white people to listen while black people tell their stories, person to person. My eyes have been opened this week hearing stories from colleagues of day to day experiences they had that I ever had. I'm with you, let's each do our part to change things. Thanks, Brother!
Biologist | Entrepreneur | Visionary | Veteran | Futurist | Technology Enthusiast
4 年This should extend to others regardless of race. There is no "white community", why should there be a black one? Black people are absolutely not being systematically hunted down and killed, that is sick hyperbole. If a white guy wanders into a " black" neighborhood they are beaten and killed too. Police brutality does not end at some racial boundary. Racism is pretty much dead, no large company or major group supports it (the KKK is not a major group, they are a very very small minority nowadays). The people named did not deserve to die at the hands of police, but it's not a race issue, it's a militarized police force issue. There is no such thing as "white privilege", but there absolutely is "black privilege". At CBRE and other major organizations there are networking groups to help only black people. The Combined Federal Campaign has a very large section of charities that help only black people. If there is racism these days, it's blacks being racist against whites. The race needs to be taken out of the argument, and make it about the person. Was he a "black man" or "a person"? Is him being " black", a mere paintjob if you will, the reason we should care?