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#BlackLivesMatter

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Christian Cooper. Omar Jimenez. The coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate harm to African Americans. 

America is in a modern Tale of Two Cities. On one hand, the people who were already left behind pre Covid-19 are now facing even greater challenges. The deeply rooted and institutional challenges this nation faced were expedited by the pandemic, and there seems to be growing consensus that we can’t ignore that reality.

Through this, our Co-Founder, Kyum Kim, addressed the violence against black people in America:

“After seeing the tragic events across the country from the past week, many users have turned to Blind to discuss the injustice and violence against people of color and the developing protests to address that. 

We believe anonymity is a powerful tool to safely highlight the unsaid, amplify the unheard, and understand the unknown. We live in a polarized society where these interactions have become rare, and we feel a tremendous responsibility to accommodate dialogs from different voices. 

We believe that constructive dialogue and conversations only happen when we agree on certain principles. We believe having an open community does not mean facilitating speech against certain attributes such as race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity, as stated in our Community Guidelines.

Black lives matter. We stand with the black community and everyone fighting against racism. We recognize the systemic racism embedded in our institutions and see how an anonymous platform can mobilize the interdisciplinary conversations needed to create change. 

We are also taking extra measures to ensure discussions are happening aligned with our Community Guidelines, and we’d like to thank users who help us continue to build a safe space for dialogue. As always, users within the community are encouraged to flag discussions that you feel violate the community guidelines and send any feedback to blindapp@teamblind.com.”

Historically, Blind has been the platform for facilitating solutions-oriented conversations. This platform was created  with the intent of having honest conversations that have not happened due to fear, culture, or hierarchy. The dialogue is intended to be constructive, forward-thinking, and inclusive. The platform is not to be used to mobilize hatred, but rather to mobilize the solution to complex issues.  We stand with George Floyd, we stand with BLM, and we will not tolerate racist behavior on the platform. 

To our users, we asked you: 

  1. Do you agree with your company’s stance / actions regarding George Floyd and the BlackLivesMatter movement.
  2. Do you agree with the following statement: “I feel comfortable raising my opinion on the situation to my colleagues in the organization.”

Key learnings: 

  • 34% of respondents strongly agree with their company’s stance / actions regarding George Floyd and the BlackLivesMatter movement.
    • Only 4% of Black or African American respondents strongly agree/ agree with their company’s stance / actions regarding George Floyd and the BlackLivesMatter movement.
  • 58% of respondents feel comfortable raising my opinion on the situation to my colleagues in the organization
    • Only 26% of Black or African American respondents  feel comfortable raising my opinion on the situation to my colleagues in the organization

We understand that these moments are disheartening, frustrating, exhausting, and depleting. But do not lose faith in the power of your own actions. Here are ways to engage:

If you are able, donate:

One option is the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit that challenges racial injustice, works for criminal justice reform, and advocates for basic human rights. Donate here.

Sign a petition

  • Justice for George Floyd on change.org:  This petition aims to “reach the attention of Mayor Jacob Frey and DA Mike Freeman to beg to have the officers involved in this disgusting situation fired and for charges to be filed immediately.” As of May 29, 5,140,869 have signed. The goal is 6,000,000 signatures.
  • #JusticeforFloyd on act.colorofchange.org: This petition is to “demand the officers who killed George Floyd are charged with murder.” So far, the petitions have garnered more than 1 million signatures. You can also sign by texting “Floyd” to 55156.

These protests are a first first step. However, meaningful change will require companies to take action, such as by hiring and promoting people of color within their ranks. Blind is committed to facilitating those conversations, and to aggregating the experiences of professionals, learning from them, and turning them into action plans.

We stand with you.