526 seconds.
The last few days and weeks have seen profound pain. We stand with our Black communities in the US and communities of color around the world that continue to experience systemic discrimination and brutality. We must all speak up in witness and allyship. Black Lives Matter.
8 minutes and 46 seconds. 526 seconds of decision points, each of which represented ultimate cruelty. How can we use the privilege of our own seconds, minutes, hours and days to stop this from happening over and over, choose to stand up, overcome with love instead of hatred?
Our condemnation is necessary but not sufficient. We seek to listen more, to understand, ready to lose our own power and control (see our wise friend and Ceresa mentor, Leslie Wingo).
One way to serve is by making Ceresa everything it can and should be. At our core stands a diverse community and mentorship practice steeped in storytelling. Diverse storytelling enables aspiring leaders to have access to and learn from seasoned leaders, especially those with similar lived experiences. We will continue to expand our impact through Ceresa.
But this simply isn’t enough.
No company is too small to take responsibility for their role in social justice. Ceresa is a startup with a small but mighty team of twelve. We commit to:
Deepening our understanding. There is much to learn and more to do. Internally, we are creating a safe, quiet, loving space for dialogue. We are looking for our entire team to participate in extensive and immersive training (such as Courageous Conversations). We are revisiting our approach to recruiting to expand diversity in our own leadership and team. We commit to an environment where all people and cultures belong.
Prioritizing the addition of extensive racial, gender and other equity resources to our curriculum. We have an opportunity (and responsibility) to better equip our entire community to deepen their journey on social justice, be more informed and stronger allies. As our community grows in leadership and influence, our hope is they too will be part of the change. We can amplify change through this community.
We need to hear more voices.
We are far from having all the answers.
We stand here, learning, listening, courageous and ready to serve.
We will be proactive in learning how we can better serve you as individuals and organizations.
Floyd. 526 seconds. Every decision counts.
Anna Robinson & Nicole Tanzillo
Co-Founders, Ceresa