Words will never be enough...
Amanda Rajkumar
Board HR Practitioner | People & Leadership | Contributing Author | Passionate about getting workplaces right | Well-being, Engagement and Equity
...to express my horror and outrage at the brutality and aggression directed at African Americans in this country. George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Nina Pop are the names that spring to our lips right now, but they sadly join many other names and many other deaths that were, and must be, avoidable. Being a person of color in America must not be a death sentence and yet, what has transpired over the past few months has been happening for decades. It is incumbent upon us not to remain silent, not to forget when the news cycle ends, and not to allow our positions of privilege to blind us to the gross inequality that is all around us.
I want our employees to know that we are not going to remain silent and we are not going to be complacent. We are going to continue to use our voice to effect change and loudly protest injustice. More importantly, we are going to listen. Too often those in a position of power attempt to center conversations about racial injustice on themselves, drowning out the voices of those who are most deeply affected.
Our donations to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Equal Justice Initiative, and the Posse Foundation are not the end of the conversation. They are what we can do immediately as we struggle with the enormity of this problem and work to use our position of strength to fight alongside those who have been marginalized for far too long.
I have more work to do, we have more work to do, but I want you to know that I stand with you and will continue to fight alongside you for the basic principles of justice and equality denied to so many for far too long.
CEO & Founder BBI | Founder MBA 30 | Keynote Speaker | Founder 'You're On Mute' Award nominated podcast | Driving racial justice and social mobility for the underserved and underrepresented to achieve social cohesion
1 年Great post Amanda Rajkumar so poignant! There is much to do and all demographics should seek to rid society of this ill
Project Director BNP Paribas do Brasil for CIB, Personal Finance, Wealth Management - Comex Member
4 年Amanda, thank you for speaking out and for your determined leadership and message, we share full solidarity with.
Legal Entity Controller at JPMorganChase
4 年It’s very nice to see colleagues from around the world speaking up on this! Now, a call to action! #BlackLivesMatter
Head of OPC Finance Retail Banking BNP Paribas Group
4 年Thank you Amanda for your commitment and for being a worthy example on that important matter of racism and discrimination. Actually most of us seem too blind to see and are simply turning our heads and looking the other way (words from a famous sound quite sixty years ago !!! and so far NADA !
Manager @BNPParibas with 20+ years in RISK. Leading RISK Portugal Hub, driving industrialization, operational efficiency, and transformation. Promoting equality and inclusion, signed 'Jamais sans elle' for gender equity.
4 年It is very important to speak up and I thank you for doing it, publicly and with such a powerful message. But I am still waiting for similar positioning here in Hong Kong...