Black Lives Matter

Black. Lives. Matter.

This has been an incredibly infuriating, painful, and sad week in American history and our communities. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery are part of a horrific and consistent abuse of power by our justice system. It is even more maddening that these moments are not new in our country – we recognize that systemic racism has been fueling moments like these for hundreds of years. As two white males, we know that we have more to learn, and have a responsibility to speak out and speak up. Racism in America is real, pervasive, deadly and everybody’s problem.

Anger isn’t enough, it takes real action, steadfast dedication and a willingness to be uncomfortable in the pursuit of justice and a better world – especially for those of us with white privilege. It is on those of us who have been comfortable with our access, education, benefits, implicit bias and privilege to be uncomfortable now and stand up for our black and brown community members. The LEAST we can do is embrace our own discomfort to stand with our neighbors and to lift them up. The LEAST we can do is to be anti-racist.

From Day 1, Venture Out has been committed to building a community of founders, for founders. We firmly believe that entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to bridge the economic gap that is inherent in systemic racism. We believe that every single person deserves the right and opportunity to improve their life in a just and equitable world. We also firmly believe that is necessary for us to support those who do not have the same access to resources that, candidly, we have had.

As we continue our own journey of understanding, advocating and supporting, here is what VO is committed to doing, as a start. We would love anyone and everyone who wants to join us to partake in this journey of learning and we are of course open to additional ideas:

1. Vote. Get these people out of office. Don’t get distracted by the top (although that’s important). Pay attention to local leaders.

1. Listen. Listen to the Black and Brown voices in our community, and in our country.
2. Educate ourselves. We need to better understand ourselves, our biases and the history of America that got us here. We will provide as many learning resources as possible to our community.
   1. Starting with this link to the google list. Anti-racism resource for white people.
   2. Other anti-racism lists that have been shared by friends of color:
      1. Asian American ways to support
      2. On allyship
      3. Anti-racism list.
      4. How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change
   3. If you are trying to understand White privilege, we recommend this article. White Debt.
   4. If you have resources that have helped you in your journey of understanding, please share them.
3. Speak out in person.
   1. If you are marching, let us know, we will be there to lock arms with you.
4. Support. Give our support and resources to communities that have already started down this path of supporting black and brown founders.
   1. BLCKVC
   2. Emerge Cohort from Liz Scallion, WeWork Labs and Softbank
5. Discuss. Embrace the opportunity to have the discussion with our community
   1. Starting with our next Founders Forum, we will have one of our breakout discussions focused on what more Venture Out can do to make an impact and help bring the change we need.
6. Donate. Here is a list of options for anyone considering, but do your own research:
   1. Social justice focused
      1. Black Lives Matter
      2. Equal Justice Initiative
      3. Bail fund
   2. Tech focused
      1. National Society of Black Engineers
      2. Black Girls Code
      3. /Dev/Color

We know that we must and can do better. This cannot just be a moment in history, it has to lead to sustained change in how we think, how we operate, and how we support each other.

VO Team