The merciless killing by police of George Floyd laid bare, once again, the institutionalized racism that plagues the USA. It is worse than racism. What we witnessed was white supremacy and institutional approval of violence against Black people. There are other alarming examples of structural racism and brutality around the world. Racism exists because collectively we allow it to exist.
When groups with power use violence against individuals lacking power, all human ideals break down. We are starkly reminded of the absolute necessity to never stop working for a better society.
At HackerOne we say No to racism. We are here to democratize opportunity across the world. We believe in the aspirations and possibilities of every human being. Hacker-powered security is proof that by working together across all boundaries we accomplish what otherwise would remain unachievable.
There is no room for racism or inequality here. Any belief in or inaction in the face of racism means lack of belief in what HackerOne is trying to accomplish.
We are not free from cultural biases or unconscious racism at HackerOne. We try to face these topics with an open mind, together. This means talking about racism, listening to each other, having our aha moments.
Our dream is a society built on respect and inclusion where every member is and feels safe to pursue their aspirations. Just as we hack software to make it better we must hack society to make it better. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. If we want to change society, we must start with ourselves. We must vote to empower the people who will carry out our mandate to eradicate racism from the fabric of our society.
But racists are counting on us to continue doing nothing. They are certain that before long, we will return to our blissful state of denial, where racism is somebody else’s problem.
We must disappoint the racists.