After a week of several police shootings, a shred of hope for justice, accountability for a crime, and a step in the right direction came with the guilty verdict for Derek Chauvin. Before we can help Black and other communities of color start and grow businesses, we have to ensure that they are safe, that they can live to run their businesses. We, as in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, should join the efforts to raise awareness and support impactful initiatives that would uplift entrepreneurs of color. We cannot do our jobs if the people we serve and their families are not safe, are not truly free.
We can and we must…ensure that the black and brown people or anyone, don’t have to wake up knowing that they can lose their life in the course of just living their life; don’t have to worry about whether their sons or daughters will come home after a grocery store run…. This takes acknowledging and confronting head on system racism…
— President Joe Biden
Here’s the truth about racial injustice, it is not just a Black America problem or a people of color problem. It is a problem for every American. It is keeping us from fulfilling the promise of liberty and justice for all, and it is holding our nation back from realizing our full potential.
— Vice President Kamala Harris
Our sector’s job is to create a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, but just as one conviction for an unjust murder, it is not enough. We must do more.