When building playgrounds isn’t enough
As we memorialize the one year anniversary of the June 2020 uprisings in response to George Floyd’s murder, this is a good time to also reflect on the onslaught of corporate impact statements in support of Black Lives Matter.
For most of my career, I have worked at dynamic non-profits that either pursue a hyper-focus mission in specific neighborhoods, or support the needs of the greater Chicago at large. These organizations are often supported, though unsustainably, by corporations. And I say unsustainably because their bottom line can be affected whenever a corporation shifts their focus. Corporations provide institutional support through corporate sponsorship, pro-bono services, as well as liaise with organizations to engage employees through volunteer opportunities or invite a thought leader to lecture on a certain topic. Though these points of engagement bring awareness, I argue that they lack capacity to effect real systemic change that reverberates to Black communities and people that need it the most.
Over the past year, the business community has started to dip their toe in the waters toward liberation. Just this past April, national business leaders signed a statement to speak out against the Georgian voter suppression laws that swept through the legislature in response to the unbelievable turn in tide during the 2020 general elections. And other states have followed suit.
Since the Great Recession, the business community has taken a back seat to engage in social issues and has vehemently opposed Keynesian measures like The New Deal. When there is an outcry of social inequity, violation of human rights, or draconian legislation, it is typically a war between people, union and advocacy groups and their silent donors, rivaling the government, law enforcement agencies, and their silent donors. The courts (though built to maintain the status quo) execute justice.
The business community’s commitment to morality, equity, and protection of human life is the missing piece in the fight towards liberation and justice for Black people. Their role will require a wielding of influence with government to promote policy shifts, as well as correct how their industry has contributed to and been sustained upon an inequitable system. The order calls for businesses to explore opportunities to innovate to address a social ill (e.g. a residential real estate equity firm addressing the dismal Black homeownership rates by providing capital for new and existing Black homeowners; or an international hospitality group addressing Black businesses’ unfair access to capital by making their bids for new construction more accessible to Black construction firms). The solutions big business can pursue can be as nuanced and creative as their niche.
Business resource groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality are ok. Day or month long community service projects make great pictures. Paid Juneteenth office closures are on par with standard holiday observances. And the occasional corporate sponsorship always goes a long way for cash strapped organizations. Nevertheless, if businesses really want to stand by their statements, and fulfill their role in the Black Lives Matter movement, they must roll up their white collar sleeves, have crucial conversations with their shareholders, and accept that a Black man’s murder affects them too. They must reflect on all the influences that their privilege offered them success, and pivot their business model, within an appropriate scope, to extend those same opportunities to Black people. They must, without hesitation, support policy changes that address the Black White wealth gap, just as it was institutionalized through the G.I. Bill and red lining, through which some industries handsomely profited from. They must know that there is a cost to freely participate in the market as they have done so for so long and it is time to pay.
