2020 is the year of the awakening. We have witnessed the killing of three unarmed Black Americans. A global pandemic has exposed that Black Americans suffer from over two times more Covid-19 deaths than whites. Recent peaceful protests supporting Black Lives Matter have been met with sometimes violent responses by police in riot gear, while just weeks ago armed white protests against Covid-19 health orders were met with police without armor or violence.
Our eyes are now opened.
For far too long, white America has been silent about the pervasive and ongoing oppression of Black Americans. This conspicuous silence has ingrained and perpetuated racism. We must stop, open our minds, listen, and learn about Black experiences, about the history of racism, and about injustice in America. To fulfill America’s promise of “liberty and justice for all”, we must demand change to eradicate racism from our culture and our institutions so that everyone will be treated equally and given equal potential.
Sun Light & Power unequivocally denounces racism in all forms and all injustices against Black Americans and all people fighting for equal treatment. Guided by our core values and our B-Corp commitment to being a force for good in our communities, we are committed to action. We will take steps to better support our Team Members who personally experience racism and injustice in their lives. We will explore conversations internally and externally within our community about actions we can take as a company and as individuals. We encourage everyone to express their feelings, to assemble peacefully to protest the status quo, and most importantly, to vote. If you do protest, please be safe by rigorously following health guidelines to protect the lives of everyone in your community.
For a brief moment on 9/11, skin color at ground zero vanished. As the dust settled, everyone became the same color — gray. First responders and citizens helped the victims regardless of their race, creed, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. As we have seen during this pandemic, Americans have a remarkable capacity to overcome adversity and help the vulnerable when we work together. Let’s apply our rich capacity to empathize and adapt to get into action to eliminate racism and injustice.
Join us to write a new American story, a story of a country that awoke to finally see the fissures of inequality and racism in its culture, and then designed new, stronger systems in which everyone enjoyed the same measure of equality, protection, and justice. Let’s get started.
Gary Gerber is CEO and Troy Tyler is COO at Sun Light & Power