Dear tech industry,
An open letter to you on Juneteenth.
Today is June 19th, 2020. Back in 1865, on this exact date, news of the end of the Civil War and the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation finally landed in Galveston, Texas. The announcement that the last stronghold of enslaved people was to be freed was made two and a half years after President Lincolns’ order took effect. Read by a Union general, General Order Number 3 began by stating:
“The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.”
Coined Juneteenth, it is recognized as the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. This is where we as a country come from.
Today is a day for celebration. Today is a day for rest. Today is a day for reflection. And for all of us, it is also a day to remember that while the issues that black people face in America are not the same ones that the first wave of free black people experienced, our treatment is still far from equitable.
Recent events — this time sparked by the untimely deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery to name a few — have sparked a global conversation about the systemic oppression and societal inequities that black people face on a daily basis.
People around us are asking, “How can we help,” “There are so many issues, where do we start,” and “What is the playbook for making this better?”
I personally don’t know. But we, black employees of your tech companies, believe that change starts where you are. Principally, change in three main areas:
- Equitable hiring, promotions, and compensation.
- Investment in social equity
- Advocacy for equitable legislation
To drive this conversation, we have started an initiative called Tech Can Do Better. Created by a collective of Black employees that stretch across several major tech corporations, we have recommendations: https://www.tinyurl.com/techcandobetter.
For more information, check us out on Instagram or Twitter for updates. If you would like to get involved, email techcandobetter2020@gmail.com.
