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1/ This morning @localglobevc , we took the first hour and a half of the day to have an open discussion titled "Let& #39;s talk about race". The discussion resurfaced a lot of the key learnings over the past 12 months on topics including race, diversity, inclusion, social injustice.
2/ I wrote down my learnings on #BlackOutTuesday June 2nd 2020 > a day of collective action to protest racism and police brutality in response to the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Re-sharing the learnings that stand true:
3/ Be actively anti racist. Not being racist isn’t enough, and won& #39;t drive the necessary change.
4/ There& #39;s no such thing as a non-racist if you have privilege. You& #39;re either racist or anti racist (which may be hard to hear).
5/ Covert white supremacy, also known as socially acceptable racism, includes acts such as not challenging racist jokes and being in denial of white privileges.
6/ #blackouttuesday (for many) was a start, there& #39;s no shame or judgement in that as long as you start somewhere.
7/ Be accountable going forward and actively set targets and goals to help show your antiracism and most importantly, and ensure you follow through.
8/ If #blackouttuesday was your start, it is only a successful start if accompanied by acts of antiracism
9/ #blackouttuesday has shown more people than ever want to support and drive change, but if you are still unclear on how, start with educating yourself through literature.
10/ Educate yourself on what natural privileges and biases you have, as only then can you unlearn them or at least use them responsibly to create change.
11/ Educate yourself on why black people can’t breathe. Feeling guilt is part of the learning.
12/ You will feel uncomfortable, you will accidentally say the wrong thing. But suck it up and swallow it because that is not what& #39;s important.
13/ The reality is that often people don& #39;t know what they don& #39;t know, so engaging on the topic is a critical first step.
14/ There will always be critics that feel what you’re doing is a tick box or PR exercise. But if you are genuine, and authentic, then that will shine through. Persist and get through it.
15/ Black people have stayed quiet and have had to swallow blatant racism time and time again to keep the peace. They& #39;ve had to fight harder to show their worth and get knocked further for smaller incidents.
16/ Everyone has felt pain, but this pain is different. This is the result of racism and oppression.
17/ As a venture capital fund, it should be obvious, but having a diverse team means you will more naturally back diverse founders. Diverse founders will more naturally build diverse teams.
18/ On #BlackOutTuesday we had a moment in time, where we posted, we come together, and we actively tried to better understand. I would love to hear how people have put that understanding into practice
