It’s been over a month since the long awaited, hard fought guilty verdict was heard for the death of George Floyd and today, May 25th, marks a full 365 days since his death. For many organizations, that’s when their journey to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce began. Many of you published a statement of solidarity then, last month, and maybe even a few times in between to call out and denounce racism. Your voices were heard and we applaud your bravery to be transparent and held accountable.
George Floyd’s death was a tragedy and Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict was a small example of accountability within our justice system. Unfortunately, true justice and systemic change are a long ways away and to get there, we must continue this work. We must continue as individuals striving to learn more about the beautiful differences we have as people. We must continue as leaders of organizations to create and model change that equitably serves our communities. We must continue and we must do more to create structural and systemic change in our organizations and in our society. This work cannot end here.
George Floyd was not the first and has not been the last to die at the hands of racism and unchecked oppression. If we are not mindful, we could slip back into the norm of ignoring our implicit biases that oppress entire communities of people. Statements will never be enough. It’s the continued action that matters. Don’t let this moment vanish.
As an organization that cares about diversity, equity, and inclusion, make time to check-in with yourself and your organization to see where you are with this work. These questions will help you reflect:
- What have I/we learned since George Floyd’s death?
- What have I/we done to demonstrate commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, or anti-racism? What were the outcomes? What more can I/we do?
- How have I/we continued to uphold systems that follow the status quo? What can we do to change it?
Thank you for your commitment to change. Let us continue. If you have not started the work, let us begin. Every step of the way, we support you.
Inclusively,
Sujata