Where are the 46 Business Emails Telling Us How They're Becoming Anti-Racist?

Since mid-March, all we've talked about is COVID-19. Even when we said we weren't going to talk about COVID.

When will it be safe to have a dinner party? When will it be safe to get our hair done? Will there still be trips to Europe? When will we feel safe living normally, not second-guessing everyday things like seeing our parents and giving them a hug? And then, businesses: "WHAT WE'RE DOING ABOUT COVID-19." How we're keeping our employees safe. How we're "here for you during these unprecedented times." That's all we've talked about and probably all we will talk about until it's over.

What's normal to white people—you know, leaving the house, walking down the street, going to the store, going to a party, leaving a party, driving a nice car, asking someone to please leash the dog, speaking up about anything—many people of color have to second guess and fear every day. For them, life in America is perpetually the gauntlet of danger we white people have just had a taste of since mid-March. (Except the offender is unseen and we don't have to take its assault personally.) Or, at the very least, I imagine life is an obstacle course of clueless mini-slights we probably wouldn't notice and didn't mean anything by. Even those of us who are trying.

So for anyone saying, "I'm over the race thing, it's not relevant in this group, can we stop talking about it?"--we probably don't get to be over it until it's over.

I've seen too many people in different settings say, "Can we please stay on topic? This is the place I come to talk about business, not race."

Newsflash: those aren't separate things, any more than business and COVID are separate things.

So I wonder...where are the 46 emails from every company you've ever done business with telling you how they're becoming anti-racist?

I've seen so many great resource lists, but too many choices can be paralyzing. So here's a short list for action, information, and donations:

I've also downloaded the book How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. I haven't cracked it yet, but I've seen it recommended quite often.