Forget Seats, We Need to Build Tables!
In the startup ecosystem, we don’t really address the fundamental roots of racism that persist.
The fight for civil rights, equality, and equity for black persons has often opened the door for other disenfranchised persons of color to gain access to those same rights. The social unrest that emanated from the United States and spread to the far corners of the world in the first quarter of 2020 was a harsh reckoning about the racism that pervades our global society.
In the startup ecosystem, we do not really address the fundamental roots of racism that persist. We acknowledge that persons of color and women are disadvantaged when it comes to financing and investment in startups, but we do not delve deeply enough into the real structures that allow these disadvantages to persist. We increase the “seats” at the table, but those seats have limited access to the power and influence that could truly shift the paradigm of equity and inclusion. It necessitates a move beyond simply inviting those that are disadvantaged to the table; but developing pathways for new tables to be created. We are at a point where just having seats will no longer do.
On September 9, 2020, the New York Times published an article entitled, “Faces of Power: 80% are White, Even as US Becomes More Diverse.” The article details, in graphic form, that essentially 80% of the decision-makers in the most prominent positions are white. As the United States becomes more diverse, as the population of BIPOC (black, indigenous, persons of color) grows, their ability to hold positions of power is greatly diminished because the majority of those seats are held by white people; mostly white males. The article paints a stark picture of reality — the locus of power in our society still rests with white males.
The music we listen to, the clothes we wear, the books that are published, the laws that are enacted — all these things, and more, are determined by people who do not look like the population they represent. And representation matters. Representation is not about checking off a demographic box — it is a display of who is valued in our society. When the faces of power do not mirror society, it perpetuates an environment of exclusion and inequity.
Without access to power, voices of color, specifically black voices, are left in the dark. Opportunities are harder to obtain and being marginalized becomes a part of the norm. We close off large portions of the society and exacerbate the social and economic fissures that already exist. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not about unity in thought — it is centered on conflict. The conflict of our ideas, experiences, and backgrounds that pushes us to work together to find a suitable solution to a problem that has been birthed from multiple perspectives.
When we highlight black leaders, we understand that they are operating in a precarious position. Our recognition of their knowledge, power, and leadership, opens the door to help create a norm for what leadership looks like. It creates a norm of what is deemed worthy of investment. It creates a norm of equity in opportunities. The black leader is no longer the exception but part of the rule. They are able to create tables for others to sit at that never before existed.
For this reason, we all have a role in ensuring that with our platforms, no matter how big or small, we are putting black leaders on the stage. It challenges our assumptions of what success looks like, pushes us to learn more about those that do not look like us, and conditions us to the idea that we all have something valuable to offer. It truly rewards hard work, dedication, and commitment — the very ideals that are the foundation of what it means to be a founder and a global citizen.
So yes, keep opening up seats at the table but supply those seats with the tools needed to build tables for others.
LaKeisha Harrison is Chapter Director for Startup Grind Memphis and a leader in Startup Grind’s DEI Committee.
