Outside is America
Image credit: Jayma Leavengood
Outside is America
by Bradley Leimer, Co-Founder of Unconventional Ventures
I watched the very moving memorial services for George Floyd today. If you haven’t seen any part of it, I encourage you to give attention to the words of Reverend Al Sharpton.
America is burning, and like most of you, I have a lot of thoughts on my mind. I shared some of them this week on our One Vision podcast (iTunes, Spotify, All Players), and I have some more thoughts below.
This has been a devastating two weeks for America after many months of tragedy for the world. But just imagine being the family of George Floyd, and how they must feel. We must all feel their pain — and we must also act — because there is so much we must change.
This is not the America that most of us want. This is not the America we need.
After so much coming together during this pandemic — after so many moments of beautiful humanity as we sheltered in place and supported the caregivers as they cared for those impacted by this virus — an even older virus reinfected America yet again. A moment of unprecedented empathy for one another — gone — in eight minutes and forty six seconds.
I can’t breathe.
In moments like this — where significant history is happening every day — people are reacting in different ways. Some protest and some march, some donate their time and their money, some write and some speak, some use their influence to share the expression of others, and some reflect upon their own biases — whether conscious or not. Some remain ignorant to the many ways society remains unjust, illiterate to the ongoing systemic bias. Some ignore the fact that there remains a deep seated racism that fails to be eradicated, one that is still very prevalent in the structures of our society and each of our communities.
Racism acts in both subtle and overt ways, and little in life is immune to this hatred of difference. We must look inside ourselves, we must look inside our society, and we must confront our history, even when it’s painful. If you read anything today, read this important article in American Banker by Jennifer Tescher, President & CEO of the Financial Health Network. Whether you are in the financial services industry or not, my friend shares the reality of our industry’s bias, the darkness of its roots, and the stark reality of broader consequences of decades of inaction.
Several days ago, I shared some thoughts on Twitter on the topic of racism that many of you found some solace in, and I want to share them here again now.
I’ve been in banking for decades, but never felt at home. Fighting against the actions of the industry that too often hurts our communities to make banking better has been part of this journey. The murder of George Floyd and the response to it has brought this home once more.
Fighting against fees and practices that discriminate, against credit models and marketing programs that discriminate, against an industry that helped cause the pain of the Great Recession and continues to be challenged as we fight the pandemic.
If you want further understanding of how policy and regulations have impacted black communities, and how the banking industry propagated them, watch Segregated by Design.
We must fight for much more.
Having worked in downtown Oakland for seven years in a credit union was one of the best experiences in my career, and held so many life lessons. It’s shaped how I look at inequality, and race, and diversity as we all worked hard to help all people improve their financial lives.
We must change the narrative around doing the right thing not because of regulations, but because it is the right thing to do. We didn’t step on anyone’s neck, but we’ve not alleviated long standing economic issues that helped lead to it. Yes, I said that, and you should too.
Fighting systemic inequalities in the system — especially the banking system so many of us call home — is an ongoing war, and what’s going on this past week is more than a tragic event after a global pandemic, it serves as a reminder.
A reminder that we are far from done and may never be. It is too inherent in human nature to distrust those you do not know, communities that don’t look like you, different races and socio-economic classes and age and religion and everything else. Our industry is not immune.
A native to the San Francisco Bay Area has led me to think that diverse cultures can always live peacefully with one another well. Living in Berkeley for decades as a UC Berkeley grad led me to believe in the strength of diverse communities. But there are so many issues here too.
So many of them are about economic inequality that impact the quality of life and the ways we look at what gets funded and what gets built, but so much is also about race, and what it means as we slowly gentrify cities like Oakland and San Francisco.
Our progressive region has had its share of tragedy, from the killing of Oscar Grant by BART police to the decades of police harassment in cities like Oakland, Richmond, and beyond. No area is immune from hate or systemic inequality that stems from perceived racial differences.
We have to do more, and we all have a role to play, whether it’s in our work, in our role in society, or in the way we raise our children. My wife is a first generation American, her parents coming here from Mexico decades ago, and we have ongoing conversations about race and bias and I’ve learned so much from her and her family.
Families themselves have become so much more diverse than decades ago when simply having relationships with people of other races weren’t just frowned upon, there were laws against it. It’s so hard to imagine. So why hasn’t society changed? Why aren’t things better?
Who we surround ourselves with helps educate and expand how we think, the shape our character, and how we approach the future. The people I choose to work with are representative of this personal growth and I would never deviate from this path because of it.
People have impact. Their ideas have an impact. Their actions have an impact.
We must continue to check our embedded biases, regardless of whether we think they are there or not. We all have blind spots that need education. I know I do. So if I don’t tweet out banking news for a week we will all be OK. Hopefully you’re still here and accept all of me. We all must work to understand one another better, as there is obviously much work to do.
You can choose to tune out the news, but you can’t tune out the mood. America is burning. We should be angry and outraged this week, that these types of events can happen in the country we live in. That much of our political leadership can act so inhuman.
Do you think George Floyd doesn’t deserve our attention? Is his murder and that of so many other black men not worthy of being on your feed? That this is nothing new is troubling, like mass shootings, income inequality, gender disparity, and other more long term inequities.
We shouldn’t just be reaching out during times of tragedy, nor should we make token efforts to hire and fund POC after an event like this. This should be part of your every day practice to change this country, to truly embrace diversity/inclusion and fight the systemic issues.
It’s not just one day for this dream, to post a picture in solidarity or throw a few messages to make you feel connected to what is happening to do the right thing. It’s how you act every day to support others, how you embrace ways to hear all voices, support all people equally.
It is in the actions of leaders during times like this that change our corporations and the mentality of the power that creates opportunity for others. It is in the movements of those in the streets and those raising their voices. It isn’t about fixing small things, it’s bigger.
It isn’t about me or about you, it’s about all of us. It’s about paying attention, talking about it, making changes inside your mind and outside in your real world where you have real impact. Let’s properly mourn and protest the tragic loss of George Floyd and so many others.
There is so much to do, so much to say that needs to be said. Racism isn’t new. Corporate response and industry actions that most often slowly disappear are nothing new. What is new is you. You are here, with me and others that are engaged and are making needed changes.
We must be part of that ongoing shift to make changes from the top of ivory towers to the desks in corner offices, even as those in power are huddled in front of their laptops in front of zoom, they are still in power. Let them hear you now. Demand your company make real effort.
Be part of creating and investing in real change. I have read plenty of ways to have impact, from changing hiring practices to training on diversity, but we’ve been doing that for years. Let’s try focusing on checking ourselves first, by eliminating systematic bias in our hearts.
This must blend into our work and in our passions. Always check your blind spots, because you know they exist. Let’s focus on rooting out systemic inequality, systemic racism, systemic bias. Let’s listen, and yes use your voice to lift up others.
The actions and support and efforts that you are all involved in give me hope, and the voices that we help lift up in our podcast and writings and on stages give me hope. You are making the difference we now need. You are creating a better future. We must always have hope.
Thank you for hearing me out. Please share your story, your journey beyond the past few weeks, what you plan to change, and what changes you're doing to help your community. We are all in this together, and we are all here to turn hope into action.
To change our society, to change our industry, we will need every one of you.
Revolutions begin in the mind before it reaches the streets.
But real change — lasting change — begins within our hearts.
Unconventional Ventures helps drive innovation to improve systematic financial wellness. We connect founders to funders, provide mentorship to entrepreneurs, strategic advisory services to a broad set of corporates, and broaden opportunities for diversity within the ecosystem. Our belief is that anyone with great ideas should have a chance to succeed and every voice should be heard. Visit unconventionalventures.com to learn how you can partner with us today.