“It’s time to do the work.”
– Deseri Garcia, Vida Aventura Founder and President
Deseri Garcia, Founder of Vida Aventura, shared this message with clients and business partners on June 2, 2020 in response to recent global protests, racial injustice, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Like many of you, my heart is breaking from the division, unrest, and violence we are seeing in our country.
It’s time to do the work.
Change starts with each of us – with heart and soul searching, and recognizing ways we contribute to racism, whether it’s from our own ignorance, conscious and unconscious bias, or tolerating anything less than inclusion.
From there we have to look at our families – maybe it starts with difficult conversations, self-examination, and calling out intolerance and biased attitudes when noticed.
In workplaces – it’s not okay to discriminate in any way. Discrimination should not be a part of any workplace, and we must create cultures of inclusion and celebrate differences.
Honestly, the times I’ve walked into executive leadership team meetings only to discover that I’m the single minority – and often the only woman – in the room are too numerous to count. This has left me bone-weary and beyond disheartened.
We need to talk less and listen more. It’s the only way to truly understand the perspectives of our ALL of our diverse team members and colleagues.
We need to self-educate and be proactive in learning more about this country’s history, systemic racism, and the facts about violence, inequality, and prejudice practices.
And in our communities, we need to lock arms with black leaders and diverse organizations who can show us the way.
It’s time to do the work.
There is something each one of us can do every single day. Read, research, discuss … purposely involve friends and family members. And in the workplace, bring in diversity and inclusion (D&I) professionals that can help.
Do something today, right now. Silence is violence.
It’s time to do the work.
Deseri Garcia
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