Why does your work focus on Black people? Isn’t that reverse racism?
In the 70s, when activists launched the Save the Whales campaign, people understood that the whales were under attack. They were being killed off due to overexploitation by the whaling industry. No one asked “why aren’t you focusing on all the sea animals?” or “All Marine Life Matters”.
The lives and rights of Black people are continually under threat. The legacy of racial injustice lives on in this country. Work like ours has always been on the right side of history and it will continue to be.
Slavery was a long time ago? Why do Black people use slavery as an excuse?
Talking Point #1
We are always expected to believe that history matters when it is something Americans are proud of. No one says, “WWII is history…why do we need to talk about that?” Or “The Constitution is old news. It doesn’t matter anymore”. It’s only when it comes to things Americans don’t want to talk about that history becomes irrelevant.
The history of slavery, Jim Crow and segregation are not irrelevant. They matter today. Americans have inherited “distorted rules of engagement” that create a permanent caste system.
This organization’s work is about ensuring that the people at the bottom of the American caste system get a fair shot.
Talking Point #2
It’s not even been a generation since explicit racism was written out of law. Alabama had anti-interracial marriage laws on the books as recently as 2000. No current day adult will be alive in 2111, the year when Blacks will have been free for as long as we were enslaved. Slavery is not an excuse. It is a historical reality, like any other historical phenomenon, that has set the course for the present day.
We live in a meritocracy. If Black people are behind, it’s because they are not working hard enough.
Talking Point #1
Thanks to the legacy of racism in this country, the average white child enters the world with 10X the inherited wealth as the average Black child. Wealth purchases access. Access to quality schools. Access to safe and resourceful neighborhoods. Access to specialty sports. Access to personalized tutoring. Access to all the things necessary to provide competitive advantage.
There is no meritocracy is a place with rampant wealth inequality. Americans don’t start from the same place, nor have the same wind to their back.
Talking Point #2
In the United States, approximately 50% of a father’s income position is inherited by his son. Where is the merit in inheritance? That’s right..there is none. Meritocracy is a myth.
What do you mean by systemic racism? How can racism live in a system? Isn’t racism about the decisions individuals make?
No, systemic racism is not about individual decisions but rather the ways that over hundreds of years, society has been hardwired to maintain and sustain the racial caste system. It operates through networks, policies, norms and practices that reinforce the status quo in this country, which is one of white supremacy, where Blackness is stigmatized and Black people marginalized. This article provides 100 data based examples of how systemic racism plays out every day.
Why should my company/foundation still care about DEI?
Foremost, diversity presents a competitive advantage. Research has proven that firms with diverse practices outpace their counterparts who choose not to prioritize Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
What we are witnessing today with the attacks on DEI efforts represents an unfortunate, yet reliable historic pattern of backlash to racial progress and the changing demographics of our country. America is increasingly becoming a more diverse nation in a more inclusive world. The companies who embrace this future are more likely to thrive in it.
For more information, check out Mckinsey & Company’s report, Diversity Wins: Why Inclusion Matters
Why do we always have to focus on race?
Racial progress has always set the pace for the advancement of other groups, whether women, LGBTQ, the disabled etc. The Civil Rights Movement for instance, served as the “tip of the spear”, making it easier for other causes coming behind it to achieve traction too. Supporting racial progress doesn’t only help people of color, but builds the foundation for a more free and just society overall.
Why focus our support on Black people versus any other group?
While other groups, like women and other people of color experience discrimination, Black people have a very specific experience in this country. Black people are the only group once considered property. It was written into the Constitution and into our laws. This has cast a deep, dark shadow which results in our racial caste system today.
To this day, race is the #1 determinant of life outcomes, with Black people reliably falling to the bottom. It is all of our responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to the opportunity they need to live fulfilling lives. When human potential is maximized, societies thrive. History has shown that when Black people do better, we all do better.
To learn more, read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Why do we need racial equity efforts? Isn’t choosing to benefit one group over another just a form of prejudice?
Despite common belief, we have never lived in a color-blind or race neutral society. In her book, Caste, Isabel Wilkerson describes American society as a play, where everyone is assigned a role at birth. She describes how, “For generations, everyone has known who is center stage in the lead. Everyone knows who the hero is, who the supporting characters are, who is the sidekick good for laughs and who is in the shadow, the undifferentiated chorus with no lines to speak, no voice to sing, but necessary for the production to work.”
Equal treatment in an unequal society freezes inequality in place. Racial equity efforts acknowledge the basic math that helping people catch up, means directing additional energy and effort to those who have been left behind.
To learn more, read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
What is your organization’s affiliation with Black Innovation Alliance?
Our organization is a member/founding member of Black Innovation Alliance. We are one of 116 organizations from across the United States that together support nearly 400,000 entrepreneurs and innovators of color. Our work is dedicated to closing the 228 year racial wealth gap through ensuring Black people have fair access to the innovation economy.
Does your organization stand by BIA’s Clap Back campaign?
If you signed the pledge…
Yes. We support the spirit of the campaign which stands against the sort of racial backlash exemplified by the reversal of affirmative action and the failure to reinstate the Voting Rights Act.
If you did not sign the pledge…
We are not a formal signatory of the campaign, but we support Black Innovation Alliance’s right to respond to the aggression being directed toward the Black ecosystem specifically, and the Black community at large, as it sees fit.
Key Resources:
The Ever Growing Gap, Prosperity Now (Link)
Big Takeaway…Definitive article on the current state of the racial wealth gap.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson (Link)
Big Takeaway…Nails language that clearly articulates the racial caste system in America.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Link)
Big Takeaway…Dr. King offers some of his most explosive language articulating the quintessential challenges driving racial injustice.
Building supportive ecosystems for Black-owned US businesses, McKinsey & Company (Link)
Big Takeaway…Makes a strong case for the importance of our work and the necessary nature of our ecosystem.
