Let's Talk: Dismantling Systemic Racism

It wasn't too long ago that people were talking about a post-racial America.  

Obama was in office, and the pundits were rejoicing about a "new-America." America was the land of the free. 

Here's the thing: racism never went away. The presence of a black president, media mogul, or celebrity cannot reverse centuries of racial injustice. Why? Racism is in every level of our society in ways that are many times, assiduous and subtle. 

Outright racism has been on the rise since 2016: anti-immigration rhetoric, xenophobia, police brutality towards black and brown communities. Americans, as a whole, have condemned these forms of racism, but systemic racism is different. 

Systemic racism infects the very structure of our society. It's less about violence or burning crosses than about the everyday decisions made by people who would not consider themselves as racist. In other words, people like you and me. 

As sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva has said, "The main problem nowadays is not the folks with the hoods, but the folks dressed in suits." Systemic racism persists in our education system, businesses, courthouses, police departments, lending practices, and the list. 

The focus on this Let's Talk is on identifying systemic bias and discussing how companies can eradicate it from society through entrepreneurship and social activism. 

Join our co-hosts:

Lan Phan, Founder of Community of Seven

Mita Mallick, Head of Diversity and Cross-Cultural Marketing at Unilever

Ali Levitan, Founder of Ali Levitan Consulting

And this week's special guest Melissa Bradley, Co-Founder at Ureeka, Managing Partner 1863, Co-Founder Sidecar Social Finance and Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University

Let's Talk is a bi-weekly conversation with leading executives, thought leaders, and changemakers. There are no presentations or talking heads, just people having a conversation about career, family, and what matters the most to them. Click down below to register. It doesn't have to be lonely at the top.