His name was George Floyd.
For 8 minutes and 46 seconds a police officer knelt on his neck, killing him.
This senseless act of violence is only the latest in a long line of publicized incidents of brutality against Black men and women. Yet many more incidents occur that are not publicized while systemic prejudice impacts Black communities daily.
To be silent is to be complicit; we have a responsibility to speak up. We condemn these acts of violence and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the peaceful protesters calling for change.
As a team, we have a duty to our employees, members, and greater community to empower systemic change through both our actions and our platform. After all, we started FloatMe to create an alternative to a biased and broken financial system.
Many of us can’t grasp the daily struggle of being judged on the basis of our skin but we can recognize the violent symptoms of systemic racism and bias because of ethnicity, class, religion, sex, gender, sexual-orientation, and many more. But we can take steps to empathize and make sure that FloatMe remains an anti-racist and anti-prejudice company. We invite all members of our community to join us in taking steps to educate ourselves, be vocal advocates, and create meaningful change.
Though we have more to do, FloatMe is taking some immediate steps by:
Curating a list of readings and resources for our team members to educate ourselves on the continued epidemic of racism in our country (we have included this list at the end of this post)
Examining our hiring process and workplace for unconscious bias
Encouraging dialogue among our team about privilege, our biases, and ways to improve.
We invite all members of our community to join us in taking steps to educate ourselves, be vocal advocates, and create meaningful change.
Because:
Black Lives Matter.
In solidarity,
Ryan, Josh, Chris, and the FloatMe Team
Resources
Articles and Readings to Educate yourself:
75 Things White People Can Do: An article with lots of ideas on how to be an ally
An Antiracist Reading List: Created by the New York Times (paywall)
Anti-Racism and Racial Justice: Created by Rachel Ricketts
Anti-racism resources: A document with lots of resources compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein
Be Actively AntiRacist: A gigantic document of resources, videos, books, and tools
Talking About Race: A variety of tools and guidance to talking about racism for families, communities, and individuals. Assembled by the National Museum of African American History and Culture
Why You Need to Stop Saying “All Lives Matter”: TLDR – Stating that black lives matter doesn’t mean that other lives don’t. We just need to focus on the black lives right now.
Podcasts:
Organizations to Educate and Donate:
Campaign Zero: An organization committed to ending police violence in America
Know Your Rights Camp: Founded by Clin Kaepernick to advance the liberation and well-being of communities of color.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund: A fund created by America’s foremost civil rights organization
The Opportunity Agenda: An interactive report that explains solutions for transforming the criminal justice system