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Reminder to all my friends & followers who work in Computing/Software/IT.
We are a group of predominantly well-off, privileged white men. Racial inequity in America is our problem to solve.
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Source: US Bureau of Labor & Statistics
https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm
We are a group of predominantly well-off, privileged white men. Racial inequity in America is our problem to solve.
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Source: US Bureau of Labor & Statistics
https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm
Our privilege means that we have the ability to look the other way, because racial inequity doesn't affect us, or the majority of our coworkers.
However, we are the ones who have the power to do something, have the platform to say something.
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However, we are the ones who have the power to do something, have the platform to say something.
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You don't have to do anything profound. But speak up against injustice & inequity. Voice support for the voiceless. Empower the powerless.
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In 1987, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) was formed to end the government silence & misinformation surrounding the AIDS crisis, which disproportionately affected gay men and people of color.
They adopted the slogan "SILENCE = DEATH"
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More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_UP
They adopted the slogan "SILENCE = DEATH"
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More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_UP
Decades earlier, in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", Martin Luther King Jr calls on America to take part in nonviolent resistance to racism. King writes about the moral responsibility of society to take action, and to disobey unjust laws.
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King is often quoted as saying, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
However, that arc does not bend on it's own. It is bent by people who push and pull on that arc to force it towards justice.
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However, that arc does not bend on it's own. It is bent by people who push and pull on that arc to force it towards justice.
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In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King argues that sitting and waiting for justice to happen is not enough. We must push for justice by actively pushing back against injustice.
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Read the full letter here: https://medium.com/@amtwo/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail-6c2a478aafde
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Read the full letter here: https://medium.com/@amtwo/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail-6c2a478aafde
It has been 57 years since Dr King wrote that letter, and yet not much has changed.
Minorities are disproportionately affected by poverty, hunger, are victims of violent crime, of police brutality, and an unfair justice system.
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Minorities are disproportionately affected by poverty, hunger, are victims of violent crime, of police brutality, and an unfair justice system.
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Silence = Death.
We must bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.
Silence against injustice can be just as deadly as a bullet, just as painful as a knee slowly pressing into the back of someone's neck, as they beg for their life.
Speak up.
/end
We must bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.
Silence against injustice can be just as deadly as a bullet, just as painful as a knee slowly pressing into the back of someone's neck, as they beg for their life.
Speak up.
/end
