We need to Speak Up Now!

Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not represent any organization or entity I am a part of. The images shown are factual and some may find them offensive, but are part of the hard conversations that must be had.

SpeakUp!

Because when we go to work tomorrow it is not going to be normal. We cannot get on our conference calls and meetings and pretend we do not have serious problems in our nation. And we cannot let this become part of another news cycle that dies away and we behave as though the problems we are facing won't happen again. Because they will.

We live in a nation that has explicit racism and bigotry. A nation that is divided and that divide not only exists in our personal lives but in Corporate America.

What's interesting is that what is happening now, has happened before and unfortunately will happen again.

Many of my friends and I have made an agreement that we need to speak up and be deliberate with our voices and our writings to ensure what many consider an uncomfortable topic becomes the main topic.

There have been so many events in the last several weeks that are sickening and must be addressed.

• A Mother in Florida kills her child and tells police that two Black Men kidnapped her child. You can read the news story here.
• Ahmaud Arbery goes for a run and is executed by White Men. I don't need to provide a link to this.
• A WhiteWoman, Amy Cooper calls the police to explicitly say an African American is threatening her. All this human being, Christian Cooper was doing was asking Ms. Cooper to leash her dog which is legally required in that area of Central Park. What I found fascinating about this racist (yes racist) situation is that people were focused on Amy's abuse of her dog (which she definitely was doing) and not on her racism and bigotry.
• And then you have the murder by four Police Officers of George Floyd, a Human Being who happened to be black.

And people wonder why Black Lives Matter (BLM) is the most important movement of the 21st Century. Frankly BLM has been the most important movement since the first African was forced into slavery.

The same people that have always and continue to keep quiet had the energy to scream about how Colin Kaepernick was anti-American because he decided to kneel during the National Anthem. Colin was not against our great country. He was highlighting the injustices of what Black America has faced, continues to face and will face for many years to come.

But Colin was admonished and dehumanized and his career ruined.

Then there is what my family has gone through.

• When my sons and I were told to go back to India and my sons turned to me and said "Dad, we are Americans".

Or

• When my family were called members of ISIS when one of our sons posted a picture of us having Mother's Day lunch.

Or

• When my Mom after 9/11 was verbally assaulted in a grocery store by a White Man and accused of causing 9/11 and that she should leave the United States.

Or

• When I personally have faced racism and bigotry in my personal life and my professional life being called the N-Word, being physically attacked for my race and color.

Or

• My school yearbooks filled with racism and bigotry directed at me.

Or

• When five years ago I stepped out of my car for my High School reunion and a schoolmate yells "Do I smell me a N***er?"

Or

• When in my professional life I have been told I don't behave like the typical Indian or being sidelined or called racist words.

I wrote a blog a little over a year ago in the third person because I was not brave to do it in the first person. But I am re-sharing the blog here and all I have written in that blog and the experiences shared are mine and those pictures are from my yearbooks and what's sad is that the blog is still relevant and will continue to be relevant for years to come. 

I can continue and continue and the stories are the same but still hurtful.

The anger I feel for what my family and I have gone through is minuscule compared to what Black America feels and while I DO NOT condone the riots and burning, I know that the anger that is there, is from generations of institutional racism which is what fuels this.

So, why this post?

Christian Cooper said it best - "It's not really about her (Amy Cooper) and her poor judgment in a snap second. It's about the underlying current of racism and racial perceptions that's been going on for centuries and that permeates this city and this country that she tapped into."

What Mr. Cooper says is so true.

How do we go back to work tomorrow knowing that there are people that don't believe Black Lives Matter or won't speak up. Keeping quiet is actually a form of collusion with the racists and bigots.

And for those of you that believe what is happening in our country is wrong, disgusting and shameful, speak up so your voices are heard!

We want to hear you and applaud your bravery!