It's Past Time to be Anti-Racist
George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Rayshard Brooks. Say their names, these and so very many other names, because these are Black lives lost. And Black Lives Matter.
What also matters is that we each do what is within our power to stop this list of names from continuing to grow. We know we are late to this fight; sometimes we have felt like it was somebody else’s fight. Sometimes we have felt that there are so many issues that need to be addressed, we couldn’t give this enough attention. We called this company Revolution Accounting, and still, we ourselves need a revolution.
So now we are educating ourselves. We are listening. We are learning to be allies, to question how we unconsciously play a part in the systemic racism that has enabled this brutality against our fellow humans on the basis of race to continue for hundreds of years in this country. And we are committed to doing what lies within our influence to dismantle the structure of white supremacy in the United States.
Beginning now, Revolution is giving a percentage of our gross sales revenue each month to Portland and Oregon organizations that are working to address racial justice and equity issues. These include Self Enhancement, Inc., and the Black Resilience Fund.
We aren’t a big corporation that can launch recruiting and education initiatives internally, and we don’t have a marketing megaphone to share our message. And that’s just as well, because it’s not our words that need to be out there. Instead, we are sharing some of the resources we’re finding for small and midsize businesses because we agree that we have a long road ahead of us and that businesses, individuals, and nonprofits all need to support and hold each other accountable. Please check these out:
Anthea Kelsick’s letter to the B-corporation community is a call to action for business leaders:
Tackling Racism As Accountable Business Leaders
Dismantle Collective’s resources page has a fantastic array of reading and videos:
Self Enhancement, Inc.:
Self Enhancement, Inc. | Youth Potential Realized
The Black Resilience Fund:
Support for Black Portlanders | Black Resilience Fund | Black Lives Matter