Just had a HUGE mind-blowing win at work that I want to share for a little #MondayMotivation as we go into this new week imagining what a just and equitable America might look like.

#Thread

As we all know yesterday was #FathersDay . My father was born in Gary, IN in 1944, a few years after Emmett Till.

At 19 he joined the Army in hopes of seeing the world outside his rust belt town and seeking ambitions beyond work in the steel mills that was already drying up.

My Dad is a born intellectual and eventually finished college. He had enormous talent and many grand visions. Too grand perhaps for a Black man of his generation.

He also had an amazing work ethic but due in part to systemic inequalities he was never truly able to excel.

At 36 he had a daughter (me!) who he raised on his own and decided he would pour all his energy and resources into making sure the sky was the limit for her long before being a #GirlDad was a thing.

Despite much hardship and frustration his efforts paid off. He fought hard to made sure I had the best education, including fair and attentive treatment from my teachers, and supported me financially in whatever meager way he could all the way through law school.

Today (after many of my own professional battles) I'm in-house counsel for an up & coming tech startup.

At 75 my Dad has a suite of health problems typical for Black men of his generation: diabetes, high blood pressure, gout and severe depression.

And no retirement savings.

THERE IS A MASSIVE LOOMING CRISIS OF UNDERFUNDED ELDER CARE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WE HAVE NOT MEANINGFULLY BEGUN TO FACE.

But...I'll save most of that for another time...

Suffice it to say that in communities that have been historically held back from building intergenerational wealth, the burden of caring for aging parents is felt disproportionately.

And of course that burden is shouldered disproportionately within our communities by WOC.

Many Black folks in my generation who appear to have "made it" are still struggling to close the wealth gap due to the cost of caring for parents who were denied opportunities to build a financial safety net.

WE are the financial safety net & often we don't have one ourselves.

Here's the uplifting part: I brought this up last week with my leadership team who are looking for ways to expand our diversity efforts in the wake of the #BLM protests.

Our company didn't make a public statement or make Juneteenth a holiday. We wanted to make meaningful change.

This morning as I was frantically calling VA doctors trying to make an appointment for my Dad (who looked dangerously frail yesterday) my CEO called me.

He wanted to know what kind of help I needed and how the company could help level the playing field for employees of color.

Effective as soon as I can draft the policy, my company will start offering elder care stipends as a standard employee benefit.

I am honestly gobsmacked.

I could cry with relief knowing that I will be able to afford to give my Dad the care he deserves for all he has worked for and endured. And that I won't have to choose between that and being able to afford a family of my own.

The moral here is keep fighting. Keep pushing for change. Keep demanding more of your institutions and employers.

Do it for the ancestors. It may happen slowly but it's happening.

#Resist