As CEO of a company that lives and breathes how inclusive diversity and equity can better our work environments, I am consumed with emotions that I never thought I would have all at once. As a mother of two college-aged brown boys, my fear of safety is heightened for them. My empathy for mothers that have lost their sons has deepened. My trust in the police state has diminished more than I ever believed possible. The Civil Rights movement I lived through had minimized racism. Or so I thought. The reality hurts that in generations not much has changed. We have endured bottled up hatred that is exploding in the mis-actions of a people that still feel subdued by chains. Oh, Martin Luther King, Jr…let freedom ring…. let freedom ring. It hasn’t rung.
What can we do? How do we come together in this time of divide when the issue is the systemic barrier of racism? I believe that more of us are good than not. We must continue to support the local, state, and national leaders, and organizations that are trying to drive unity, peace, and resolve. Each one of us, must come together in unity in our own communities and pull strength within our families. Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore says, “Change is not easy when dealing with people that have absent empathy.” In other words, they cannot ever imagine being Black or living the Black experience.
I will end with this – we are in no uncertain terms amid the greatest global pandemic of our lives with enhanced detriments to health and the inequities that continue to exist. We must care for ourselves and others close to us. Stay Safe and Be Well.
