This is about so much more than police violence
The lack of diversity across business, academic, and political leadership in America is stunning, wrong, and needs to change.
This newsletter is produced w/ Zach Peterson (@zachprague).
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It’s been challenging to to sit down and write this newsletter over the past two or three weeks. The gravity of the response to George Floyd’s murder has been a lot to process. The protests are working. They are peaceful, they are constant, and they are working. The polling, via the Pew research Center, is quite clear - people support the #BLM movement:
At the same time - as scrutiny on the police is as close as ever - black people continue to be killed by police officers. For all the threads, videos, and more that we see online, I can’t help but wonder how much violence has been committed by police officers across America against peaceful protestors, bystanders, and other people who simply do not deserve - and have done nothing to merit - a violent response from the state.
It’s important to remember that as visible, visceral, and awful as police violence against non-whites can be, it’s merely one aspect of a system rigged against people of color. “Oppression” is a strong word, but this is oppression. Living in a default state of fear of a potential interaction with police is certainly oppression. Not having even remotely the same professional, educational, and personal growth opportunities is oppression.
Let’s take the business world. Here’s all you need to know, via a survey of the Fortune 500 by Korn Ferry and The Executive Leadership Council:
In 2020, there are only four black CEOs leading Fortune 500 firms, and fewer than 10% of the most senior P&L leaders in the Fortune 500 are black. In fact, since 1955, there have only been 15 Fortune 500 black CEOs.
These aren’t opinions, these are facts. Look at Silicon Valley and it’s the same story - via Danielle Abril (@DanielleDigest):
Last year, black people made up 3% of Facebook’s senior leadership, an increase of one percentage point over 2018. During the same year, they represented 2.6% of Google’s leadership, unchanged from the year prior.
In terms of its board, at Facebook, two of its nine members are black. And at Alphabet, Google’s parent, two of its 11 members are black.
There is a litany of material and scholarship on the topic, and I encourage you to listen, learn, and be a better ally - and the office is a great, and very important, place to put this to practice. Read this thread by Anjuan Simmons for a bit more perspective on diversity in the tech industry:
Work is a huge part of American life (something my European friends remind me of constantly), and, whether we like it or not, the corporate response to our myriad crises is remarkably important. Consumers already expect brands to have some sort of a moral compass, but it’s a bit tougher (it seems) to hold them accountable for hiring practices.
So, do it from within. Engage with your colleagues about diversity on your teams, in your divisions, in your leadership ranks, and in your industry. Engage with them on being more representative and inclusive. Engage, engage, engage.
- Sree
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Read Something
I’m a journalism professor - and a junkie for the craft. But my beloved industry is not without blame when we talk about the “system” in “systemic racism.” Instead of the usual one or two pieces, here’s a list of things worth taking in that really get at the heart of how we got to this point.
- “To be black and a journalist at this moment” - Amanda Barrett @ The Associated Press
- “Refinery29 is reeling from claims of racism and toxic work culture. Employees say it's even worse behind the scenes” - Kerry Flynn @ CNN
- “A window into one newsroom’s diversity opens, but an industry-wide door shuts (for now)” - Sarah Scire @ Nieman Lab
- “Newsrooms Are in Revolt. The Bosses Are in Their Country Houses.” - Ben Smith @ The New York Times
Watch Something
We are trying to understand several major, ongoing crises in America: Systemic racism, affordable health care, and extreme economic and financial inequality. I had Rev. Kevin Van Hook, Marcia Johnson-Blanco, and Stephen Milliken to discuss how all of these things come together and have become so ingrained in our society - and what we can do to change it. Subscribe to my channel here.
Listen to Something
The police chokehold has become representative of a catalog of state abuses - physical, economic, and more - put upon non-whites in America. Paul Butler (@LawProfButler) saw it up close as a prosecutor, describing his job as “basically just locking up black men.” This is a moving discussion with Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) in which Paul goes into detail about his own experience of being falsely accused of misdemeanor assault. Listen to the episode here and on all major podcast platforms.
Odds & Ends
🗞 My Sunday #NYTReadalong, executive produced by Neil Parekh (@neilparekh): Every Sunday I read the print edition of the NYT live. Our guests this past Sunday were Jack Myers, discussing diversity and inclusion in media and advertising; and Sujana Chandrasekhar, M.D., and Marina Kurian, M.D., hosts of a new weekly show called She’s On Call.
Watch the full episode:
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This Sunday is Father’s Day and our #NYTReadalong guest will be Tom Jolly (@tomjolly), Print Editor of the NYT! Please join us 8:30-10ish am ET.
Speaking of Father’s Day, here’s a cool opportunity: Get a father or father figure in your life a spot on our FD promotion. Great pay to pay tribute and you’ll have a permanent video of your special gift. We did this for Mother’s Day with great success.
Just go to http://digimentors.link/fathersday
The Sunday #NYTReadalong is sponsored by Muck Rack, Magic Bus USA and Strategy Focused Group. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email sree@sree.net and neil@neilparekh.org.
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