Black Lives Matter, Period. Resources and a Message from our Co-Founder

Personal Message from our Co-Founder, Bianca Peart

Before I begin, there are resources at the end of my message that colleagues have found most useful to help eradicate racial injustices. At Bold and Brilliant Life, our call to action is for you to (1) review the resources, (2) implement one of the resources, and (3) share a new piece of information with at least one person. Thank you.

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I am distraught at the gruesome death of George Floyd, 46-year-old black man who was murdered by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020. This tragedy, captured on camera for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, is the final straw that broke the proverbial nation’s back. There’s an endless domino effect of law enforcement killing innocent black lives, preceded but nowhere limited to Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman shot and killed in her home during a “no-knock-warrant” in Louisville, KY, and Ahmaud Arbrey, a 25-year-old black man shot and killed while jogging near Brunswick, GA. The names and hashtags go on and on and on and on… and on for centuries.

Yes. There’s national outcry but in the black community this is yet another murder, another tragedy, another good-hearted life lost due to the lethal construct of racism.

The brutal, unjust actions ending the pulse of black lives nearly causes my heart to flat line and I increasingly struggle to resuscitate myself, just to mask my emotions and breathe spastically throughout the days - particularly at the (now virtual) workplace.

I bring up the workplace because I spend at least 50 hours each week speaking with many colleagues through meetings and email. A genuine, “How are you?” or “How can I help?” or ideally “I heard about another tragic event… I’ve just done X about it.” from a colleague would go a long way but, to be Frank (and “Karen”), my non-black colleagues just don’t understand the gravity of these unjust deaths simply because they are living a different experience or abhorrently know damn well what’s going on but choose not to a damn thing about it.

While I can fortunately take ample time off from work, there wouldn’t be enough PTO in the world to cope with the trauma, stress, and anxiety of when the next black life will be compromised. Additionally, the rage is intertwined with the current COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately killing black people.

The push and pull, the code switching, the emotional and phycological pain triggers unrest. These conversations about racial injustices must be discussed and acted upon at work and in every setting–family dinners, friend gatherings, etc.

Non-black colleagues must be our allies and share our experiences and protect us in every interaction with another human being, period. Because as a human race it is natural to protect each other.

With quotes circulating cyberspace, an example of a bare-minimum act of allyship is from Governor Gavin Newsom (CA): “The black community is not responsible for what’s happening in this country right now – we are, we are. Our institutions are responsible. We are accountable at this moment. Let’s just call that out.” A white man, in power, calling out injustices and institutional racism. Now, for a quick lesson, in order for Governor Newsom to be the be an ally at his fullest potential, he needs to be held accountable - as he says - and take action on actively ensuring racial justice. That’s what people in power should do, right? And no, it doesn’t take one day or one month, this requires consistent life-long efforts.

A colleague recently said something so simple and eloquent:

“People have to start getting uncomfortable with the truth instead of living comfortably with lies.”

If not now, when? It is time to start getting uncomfortable with the truth and DO SOMETHING to enact change. Despite very slow progress over the years, we are fed up, and we KNOW you can hear us now.

Regardless of your race, we must work collaboratively to demand a basic need – justice and equality. I’ve collated top resources which have been helpful for me and colleagues. Solutions are multifaceted and I emphasize starting with colleagues in team or affinity group meetings. In the Bold and Brilliant Life community we spend most of our lives in the work place, serving as an accessible entry point to start conversations. We hope you can find something useful in the below.

Thank you for reading my raw thoughts. — Bianca P.