Forbes - Pancakes With A Side Of Racism

Plus: Amid Rise In Attacks Against Asian Americans, Jeannie Mai Calls For Intersectional, Anti-Racist Action

The start of 2021 has seen no shortage of promises of increased equity. In addition to President Joe Biden’s executive order on racial equality, Ariel Investments' new efforts to close the racial wealth gap are a win for Black, Brown and women-owned businesses. The investment firm, which was America’s first Black-owned mutual fund, has promised to invest money in an effort to transform middle-market companies into owned by Black, Brown and women-owned businesses, “forging a new class of Black and Latinx entrepreneurs.”

Yet, despite these promises of increased equity, marginalized groups of people are continuing to reel from the effects of Covid-19.

Look no further than the San Fransisco Bay Area, where xenophobic rhetoric, fueled by the coronavirus, has resulted in a recent surge in hate crimes. As Asian Americans tentatively celebrated the Lunar New Year last Friday, daytime talk show host Jeannie Mai called for Asian Americans to speak out against the recent outbreaks of violence, advocating for unity between Black and Asian American business owners. “We have to work together to dismantle a system that suppresses us all,” Mai says.

Asian Americans haven’t been the only group marginalized by the pandemic.

Those with learning disabilities haven’t been included on Covid-19 vaccine priority lists, despite having a demonstrated vulnerability to the virus. This vaccine discrimination is a symptom of a systemic problem—as a society, we have, and continue to, undervalue those with learning disabilities.

In facing these inequities, one of the best ways we can support DEI efforts is by increasing diversity in the workplace—the main roadblock to which is bias. Here is how companies can minimize and correct for biases in the hiring process.

And as we look at the equity failures of the past month, we must acknowledge their roots and ensure that we listen to BIPOC history. For example, when Quaker Oats announced that it would rebrand Aunt Jemima as the Pearl Milling Company, many wondered whether the company missed the opportunity to tell the untold story of the Black woman who performed as Aunt Jemima. Another untold story: Gladys West, whose scientific contributions were pivotal in creating the GPS. Her work continues to affect our lives today.

Quiz Yourself

When was Ariel Investments, America’s first Black-owned mutual fund, founded?

A) 1954

B) 1966

C) 1983

D) 1990

(Answer located at the bottom of this newsletter.)

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Up Ahead

Answer: (C) America’s first Black-owned mutual fund was founded in 1983.