Originally published on 17 February 2023. Kept as written; the law it describes may have moved since.
I appreciate the celebration of Black History month, but I live it everyday.
And as a business owner, we also hold space for its public recognition in February when the rest of our non-Black mates join in openly celebrating our significance, contributions, and humanity.
So in that spirit, I want to give a shout out to Black leaders past, present, and future. Your efforts and sacrifices paved the way for some of our greatest privileges today.
While the fight for fairness and equity continues, today’s challenges for modern leaders are different. Beyond overt despicable targeted acts of violence and hate crimes, the more insidious forms of racial prejudice are subtle, nuanced, and systemic. E.g., AI tools are fantastic, but we must ensure they’re ethical by design because biased data inputs result in biased outcomes - period.
So, we must all, Black and non-Black:
◦ remain vigilant to speak out against dysfunctional leadership and practices that prevent inclusive growth.
◦ be outraged at the racial injustices.
◦ remain curious and continue learning and advocating for policies and processes that account for prejudice and benefit all.
Make no mistake, all claims to abolish CRT & racial education foster the types of systemic white (predominantly male) supremacy that conveniently omits the atrocities committed against non-Caucasian peoples. It refutes the vital reality and experience of Blacks, while attempting to preserve value systems built on racially decisive ideology.
Like lessons learned through personal trials, American history and in fact world history is Black history.
Bias and prejudice don’t take days off, and neither will we. Because modern leadership isn’t color-coded, it’s people-centered.