We Can All Be an Ally

It has been over one week of heart-breaking events in America - above all else, the unjustified, and racially driven murder of George Floyd. I expected my LinkedIn feed to be full of perspectives from leaders at all levels to express support, empathy, or calls to action. In reality, most have been from Black colleagues and friends, or corporate-led statements. I asked myself… is this a problem? Is it that my professional network is full of like-minded, accepting people, and therefore we do not need to influence each other? Or is it that people are nervous about saying the wrong thing, regardless of best intent? Or is it that perspective on today's events can signify political alliance, and is therefore risky to post? 

There is always risk in making a public statement, but there is an even greater risk in not. We are at an inflection point for the future of our country, and there has never been a more important time to have a voice than now, in 2020. 

I don't have solutions to propose, but I do have a few asks of my network:

Executives, please lead locally.  Share what you will do within your organizations to drive change. Small steps, even acknowledgement of what is happening, will make a huge difference. People need local leadership. I thank VMware for being quick to implement a company-wide day off on June 12th to take pause. It does impact how I feel about working for this company. It is anything but business as usual, and we can't pretend that it is. 

Use your platforms. Ask for action.  Choose the platform where you have the largest sphere of influence, and ask your community for action or ideas. Many people are in a position to help, but don't know how. If you are supporting an organization or have ideas for how to make progress, please share.

Reflect differently, however that may be.  My friend, a white male, shared with me that he is scared for his safety due to vandalism and violence in his neighborhood. He thought about leaving the city to stay with nearby friends until protests calm down. After some reflection, he realized that the temporary fear he is experiencing today is likely how Black people feel every day. He decided to stay home in recognition of this, and share his perspective on social media.  

Sadness and anger are understandable, but I have realized it is not where the focal point should be. I am not saying it is right, but it admittedly has made me pay more attention. The physical damage to our community has turned more heads than a peaceful protest. It has made me reflect more on the actual issue at hand, which is systemic racism and the senseless loss of life.

Educate your kids. People are not born racist, but do need to be taught equality. Talk to kids about what is going on, so that history does not repeat.

Have a dialogue. It’s not the time for silence.  Offer Black friends and colleagues support and ask what actions you can take. I had a conversation with a friend recently, and when I asked what I can do, he said to vote. Not just during national elections, but for local officials and judges. Do research on a candidate’s campaign speeches and the organizations they support. 

Thank you for reading this. I welcome your perspectives and proposed solutions on how to fight racial inequality. The remainder of this article is a re-share of a post by my friend, Zachary Watts. Please read on to hear his powerful message.

"I wish I had the time and energy to write this out in more detail.

For those of you who are in outrage about the rioting and violence, it is your privilege to say how horrible the riots are but for those of you who feel this way and who are in the white community, it is also your privilege to be able to ally and make things better.

In short, I am a peaceful, God-fearing, read my bible every day, pay my taxes, contribute to my community, non-violent, MIT educated, Black male who has been harassed by cops before and called every racial slur under the sun. That being said, I do not condone violence, but I do understand that it is a vehicle for a message.

Simply stated, I want to see people who are allied to the cause of civil equality and justice to show outrage at the loss of life and stop posting about your outrage regarding these riots.

So many posts are about the riots, property damage and saying how sad it is. One “friend’s” post had the following comments: (paraphrased): “they” want my support...”they” want me to hear them...not happening because of the rioting and violence....Somehow, the loss of life is secondary to the property damage that is happening to our beautiful city and because of said property damage, a deaf ear will be turned to the fact that people who look like me are continuing to be targeted and killed.

People in this very city live in fear, helplessness and outrage on a daily basis. I think it is quite interesting that these feelings are now being shared by those who have not had to feel this way before and that these feelings provide a juxtaposition of what living in fear, being powerless and angry feels like, albeit temporary.

Please check your privilege at the door. For those of you who are curious, I will share an example of how white privilege sounds: You keep saying “It’s horrible that an innocent Black man was killed, but destroying property has to stop. ”Try saying “It’s horrible that property is being destroyed, but killing innocent Black men has to stop.”

Contrast the riots with a group that came armed to a state capitol over being told they had to say at home due to covid-19. Were these people called terrorists? I wonder how that would have played out if several hundred Black people did this same thing in the exact same way...where was the outrage there...where were the news cycles?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/30/michigan-protests-coronavirus-lockdown-armed-capitol

The fact that we even need support is a huge part of the problem. When knees were taken by NFL players, we were seen as “un-American”, “thugs” and called “sons of b’s” by the President and so many others, despite the fact that this was a non-violent method of respectful protest that was given as a recommendation by a decorated service member. Please keep in mind that this is the very same President who says that he is “an ally to peaceful protest” while tear gassing participants of a peaceful protests so he could have a self aggrandizing photo-opt.

Again, I do not condone the violence and opportunistic rioting; however, my outrage will always be with the loss of life and everything else will always be secondary.

People quote Dr. King and his non-violent stance but please take a moment to read his own words on violence, understanding it and its use - https://timeline.com/by-the-end-of-his-life-martin-luther-king-realized-the-validity-of-violence-4de177a8c87b

The systemic racism and killing of black people MUST stop and that is where the outrage MUST be."