To our community.
As two female founders we have often talked about gender diversity and publicly championed the need for it, but issues of race and racial discrimination have until now not featured in Feedr’s public dialogue. This needs to change.
We are so deeply saddened and angered by the senseless killing of another black person, George Floyd, at the hands of someone charged with protecting people in society. This institutional racism exists within the very public bodies that are supposed to protect people in the US. We’d be naive to say that systemic, institutional and subconscious racism, particularly against the black community, is unique to the US. Equality and justice is needed in the US, in the UK and globally. We stand with you.
Against the backdrop of unimaginable human loss and suffering the pandemic has brought, we want to think that suffering as a people brings us together. But the pandemic is also not equal. More people of colour are dying than white people. This needs to be researched, understood, and addressed.
It’s important to remember that when children are born, babies look equally at the faces of all races. But by age 5, research has shown that black children show no preference toward their own groups, as compared to white children at this age, who are more likely to be strongly biased in favour of whiteness. By the time they start school, children show many of the same racial attitudes held by adults in our culture. They have already learned to associate some groups with higher status than others and perceive specific behaviours. (Bronson & Merryman, 2009). These foundations are the bedrock of what is then followed by years of layered, subconscious biases which ultimately manifests in a society that is racist without sometimes even acknowledging it.
It’s important we have these discussions amongst our colleagues. Protesting, posting resources, donating, sharing and listening are the only ways we can understand and break down what’s happening, and then become change agents in our own societies. As business owners and leaders, we have to ask ourselves how do we undo years of deep seated prejudice that we may not even realise we have? How do we ensure we are eliminating any form of bias, racial or otherwise, when we make decisions to hire and promote? How do we make sure that we push for equality not just within our business, but also in our supply chain and broader community?
Our team have shared some fantastic resources and ways of supporting local black communities here in London, so we have listed these below, which we hope you find helpful.
To watch and read
Watch commentator and TV host, Trevor Noah give his thoughts here
You can find an extensive reading list of books about race in Britain here
Support businesses
Find a full list of London’s black-owned restaurants here.
Support charities
Kwanda – a modern collection pot for black communities
Black Ticket Project – helps fund theatre tickets for young black kids
4Front Project – tackles youth violence by working directly with young people on personal development