5 Things / how far we've come
This time last year, in the wake of George Floyd's murder, many Americans began to understand the depth of racial inequities and many organizations released statements and made commitments towards racial justice.
The news this week was full of stories holding companies accountable for those racial equity commitments. The short version is that there are a lot of unfulfilled commitments and the real work must be to address structural inequities.
Yeah, it's really, really slow and there are lots of unfulfilled commitments, and there should be outrage. But we never really thought this was going to be quick, did we? We're still moving forward.
Right?
2020 was the year that conversations about race happened at work more than ever before. As a DEI firm, we began to work with more organizations who were willing to have these conversations. In our focus groups with employees across industries, there's no mistaking that Black folks reported a lower sense of belonging. There's some serious distrust. We're still a long way from racial justice, and every single one of us has a role to play in changing that story.
So yes, there's a long way to go, but we should still celebrate how far we've come. Here are some really big wins from the past year:
A bunch of companies are making great progress on their 15 percent pledge commitments, and Yelp has fulfilled all of them. The 15 percent pledge is a commitment to amplifying Black businesses.
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation was able to invest $2 Billion into historically underserved communities. Because of their massive boost in fundraising, they were able to make grants to 12,000 small businesses, more than 80% of which are owned by minority individuals.
There's an increase in dollars going to Black and Latinx-owned venture capital funds (which are then more likely to invest in BIPOC-owned startups). PayPal just committed another $50 million, doubling their commitment from last year.
There's been a lot of recent media coverage of the 100 year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, and it's about time these stories were heard. But I was most heartened to learn that the legacy of Black Wall Street and entrepreneurship remains.
And finally, Here's a great round-up of products that are now more inclusive, including Aunt Jemima, Barbie, Sephora, and Hallmark.
These stories matter because they're mostly about creating more Black equity. They're about providing more money and opportunity to Black-owned businesses. They're about ways to ultimately reduce the racial wealth gap. That's what matters.
A year ago, I began to better understand how I benefited from my whiteness. I wrote an essay called "It's Not My Fault" that seemed to resonate with folks. It might click with you.
Image by: Medium