This is a time of great stress, and we hope you are all keeping well.
We have been sheltering-in-place for a couple of months now, living with the fear of contracting a dangerous virus.
In the midst of all this, another virus has had a resurgence—the continuing injustice perpetrated against people of color in this country.
The saddest thing you can do today, and we encourage you to do it, is type “Death of George Floyd,” “Death of Ahmaud Arbery,” “Death of Breonna Taylor,” etc. into Google and then click the “People Also Searched For” link. You end up scrolling through a long list of faces pushed out of this life against their will. Many were household names for a news cycle or three, then forgotten, replaced by newer victims. Google does a fine job at bearing witness.
As a company—not just a business but a company of people—our vision is one where we enable richer communication, engagement, and understanding between individuals and communities. This vision should and will guide our support for marginalized communities and condemnation of anti-Black and all forms of racism. Why are we lifting “anti-Black” out of the collective “all”? Because when you scroll through the list of those who unwillingly gave their lives on a sidewalk, in their homes, in the back of a police van, walking or jogging down the street—it is primarily Black faces looking back. That is the moment we are facing right now.
It is also a moment in which to ask, what action can I take today to help prevent senseless deaths tomorrow? With that in mind, Vyond is making a donation to the Center for Policing Equity, and will also match employee donations to this organization, dollar for dollar.
This page on President Obama’s site has other good resources for information, contribution, and engagement.
Stay safe,
Gary Lipkowitz, Vyond CEO
No Black community has ever taken to the streets demanding that White people would just love us more. Communities march to stop the killing. Racism is about behaviors, not feelings.
– Phillip Atiba Goff, PhD
Co-Founder and President of CPE
It is up to men to stick up for women, straight people to stick up for gay people, and white people to stick up for people of color. This is not an issue for black people to solve. It is an issue for the rest of us to work on because we are the ones perpetuating it.
– Dr. Valerie Williams Goss
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