Black lives matter 🖤 (Startup Watching #246)

By Andrew Askins • Issue #246 •

I thought I was a good ally.

When a friend called me out a couple years ago for not following enough women and people of color, I got so mad. I was a good ally, she knew my heart was in the right place, so why was she shaming me??

Once the anger cooled, I realized she was right. She was actually doing me a favor, taking time out of her day to teach me.

So I took the time to work on who I was following. Again, I thought I was a good ally.

In the fall we hired a new developer who was passionate about diversity & inclusion. I was so surprised when she suggested we take a D&I course as a team. Surely we already had an inclusive culture!

But we took the course, and I learned a lot about language, privilege, and intersectionality. Again, I thought I was a good ally.

Then came last week. It took the brutal death of another Black man, a country erupting in mass protests, and video after video of police assaulting protestors to open my eyes further. To see how little I was doing.

I can’t remember ever personally donating to an organization fighting systemic racism before last week.

I have let countless micro-aggressions go by unchallenged.

This shit has got to change. We all have to be better allies. We have to be antiracists. It is literally life or death for Black people in our country.

Today’s issue is devoted to resources for fighting systemic racism. I’ve included articles that have helped me over the last few days, books to read, organizations you can donate to, and places to recruit diverse talent.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely privileged in some way. I challenge you to use that privilege to change the system for the better.

Black lives matter ✌️

Andrew

Allyship and Antiracism

Resources by Rachel Cargle
A Childhood Story About Being Black in America by Muffy Levy
Marie Forleo & the Good White Liberal Response by Rachel Rodgers
What Can I Do About My Own Racism? by Anthony Chin-Quee, MD
White Guyde To The Galaxy by Tatiana Mac
Save the Tears: White Woman’s Guide by Tatiana Mac
How to Use Your White Privilege to Help Black + POC in the Marketing Space by Elise Dopson

Books to read

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Olou
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Organizations to donate to

Places to recruit diverse talent

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By Andrew Askins

Curated knowledge, inspiration and background stories from the startup world. Delivered to your inbox every Thursday or Friday 📬 | Find me @andrewaskins.

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