Where are we as a company regarding race, equity, social justice, following the golden rule, caring, caring about “the least of these,” caring about anybody, caring and reaching out?
There is the statement, “We do not discriminate on the basis of…” and “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
But truths are not self-evident, and we do discriminate. We must discriminate as we are human beings, and we make judgments. Our statement about where we are for today is that we are on a journey, an ever present, ever continuous journey to find love in our hearts and justice in our policies and to keep looking for our blind-spots.
We are looking to stand for George Floyd and to love and care about his family. We are looking to find compassion for Derek Chauvin. What is his story and who is listening?
We are looking to stand for capitalists, investors, and inventors. We are looking to stand for unions and for increasing the minimum wage. We are standing for voices being heard. We are standing for the youngest and the oldest and the newest.
In the course of our work with corporations, we encourage opportunities for developing young people and dark horses. We press for listening longer. We press for being responsible for personal judgments and interpretations that undermine and go against anybody, against the leader and against the newest hire. We push for this because it is good business, good manners, and right.
Now we are thinking we can go the extra mile or extra miles. We can go the extra mile regarding the homeless and the Special Olympics and the local Adult Training Program for Special Needs. We can go the extra mile to support scholarships at the university for first- generation students. We can go the extra mile for funding arts programs for children at the local African American Museum. We can go the extra mile to take our visitors to that museum and the Black Lives Mural in downtown.
So, we are now in this campaign, this movement, this lasting-a-long-time movement to treat each other with kindness and to preach loving everybody and keep looking to create actions that build that ability and sensibility.
We will be updating our blogs regularly to share opportunities to commemorate, reconcile, and celebrate love and sisterhood/brotherhood:
- What we are watching, reading and studying.
- Places to visit: museums, parks, historic sites, festivals, public art.
- Opportunities for philanthropy.
- Volunteering opportunities.
We honor and support recovery and healing from the damage done 400 years ago in Jamestown and in West Africa, 100 years ago in Tulsa, one year ago in Minneapolis, and somewhere yesterday. We look for apology and forgiveness. We look for kindness and making opportunities.