Black Lives Matter
Below is a message that I shared this morning on Hudson MX’s weekly All Hands call and I wanted to share it here as well.
The events of the past few weeks have served as a visceral, urgent reminder that our country has so very far to go in achieving liberty and justice for every American and to affirm that Black lives matter.
I believed it was important for our team to hear directly from me and —most importantly —for HMX to take tangible steps to support those words with actions. That’s why we will be offering every employee two days of paid time off per year to be used for civic engagement activities. And why both myself and HMX will be matching donations to organizations that focus on social and racial justice through the month of June.
These are not perfect or complete solutions, but they are a start. I look forward to working with our team at HMX to continue to listen, to continue to learn and reflect, and to continue to act - and I hope our colleagues throughout the industry will do the same.
Sometimes events in the world are so important that they require us to pause and take stock of the moment -- of ourselves and of our country. For more than a week, the nation has been in upheaval spurred by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis. The graphic video showing his death is enraging and heartbreaking. The pain and the outrage that drives these protests are profound and powerful and persistent. The injustice is undeniable. And this was most certainly not an isolated incident.
I feel it is important to state clearly what I believe with all my heart: Black lives matter.
And it is imperative that we acknowledge these aren’t random events, but rather manifestations of structural racism.
Even with all that is going on at HMX, we still must find a time to reflect. On the systemic racism that poisons our nation-- and on the all too often silence and inertia that enables it.
I want you to know where I come from -- and why I feel so much sadness and disgust. Why I feel so much sympathy for this movement calling for justice. And why I believe -- deep down -- we all have to ask ourselves -- especially white Americans -- what are we going to do to address the ingrained effects of racism in our country.
Growing up, my brother Will and I attended a magnet elementary school in the poorest neighborhood in Augusta that was founded to overcome school segregation issues as a result of bussing being outlawed, and ultimately ended up at a high school that was overwhelmingly black—where we learned how cruel, unfair and gross our society can be. These weren’t abstract concepts, these were my closest friends from the age of 5. It was in my face: seeing how our lives diverged—or, more accurately, seeing how different pathways existed for me purely because I was white and had two lawyers for parents. It was something that was all too obvious, even for a kid.
I certainly didn’t forget how broken our system is — it informed many of my personal values, but it wasn’t until the truly awful killing of Ahmaud Aubrey back home in Georgia and George Floyd for my hurt became unavoidable and overwhelming. And it hit me hard. The killings of Ahmaud and George were despicable, and I have mourned for their families. The hurt is deeper though—for the tens of millions of Black Americans for whom their country, which I love and believe in so very much, has not lived up to its ideals. The scale is overwhelming.
For those of you interested in what I’m doing personally, I’m happy to speak with you anytime. But today I’m speaking to you as your CEO. I’m here to talk about what Hudson MX will be doing:
Re-affirming that Black lives matter. And that we commit our company—and I commit to you as your CEO—to live up to our responsibility to create an environment where that fact is known, felt, and embraced.
Effective today, HMX employees will be granted two days of PTO specifically for civic engagement. HMXers are passionate and creative -- I have no doubt that you will all come up with ways to make a difference. We will also highlight HMXers in action so as to ensure this core value of civic engagement stays top of mind to us all.
I personally and HMX as a company will match your donations through the end of June to organizations focused on social and racial justice. We will be sending a survey out shortly for you to help choose which organizations we support.
In this moment, it's critical to self-reflect. I trust that you will join me in also taking action. Thank you.
