Investing in our mistreatment
This year brought news of discrimination lawsuits against companies such as Tesla, Amazon, and the NFL. Two very powerful companies whose founders like to think of themselves as so-called progressives, especially in the field of innovation. It appears these guys and their cronies are falling short of it in the context of that 500-year-old invention called white supremacy. It often looks like they are working hard to refine it.
Earlier this year, Recode did an article on Amazon’s employees who complained about discrimination at the company. Tesla was also hit with a $137 million federal jury decision to pay a former contractor. One noticeable thing correlated across both companies is that human resources did not take these situations seriously. We all know that the human resource department is an extension of the CEO’s vision and management style. They do not work for the employees; they are there to protect the company.
The tone of corporate America is to give these broad cliché statements that at the end of the day tolerate anti-black racism. How many cases are tout there of top white HR executives quitting organizations and saying, “I could not be part of a company that does not allow me to do my job and treats people this way”? Not many, if any. The reason they continue to do this is that there is no accountability from investors, employees, and the law. In the case of Tesla, the amount of the award does speak loudly, but we need this to become a precedent when companies practice this type of behavior.
The former inclusion and diversity employee quoted in the article said that the top HR executive at Amazon essentially dismissed her when she offered advice. These titles are nothing more than public relations for these corporations. Most could care less and some factor in the cost of these lawsuits as nothing more than the cost of doing business. If you look at these companies’ supplier diversity numbers you will see the same problem. In America, the ability to practice anti-black racism is above profits. This sounds crazy and that’s exactly the point, white supremacy in all its forms, is psychopathic.
The black consumer can act by not investing their hard-earned money in these companies. Supporting corporations that practice anti-black racism is inappropriate behavior, and although hard because we live in a system of white supremacy, we must find ways around them. Other groups like Asians and Jews practice group economics and we must do this as well. The result will be a stronger and more defensible black community to protect us from this and other forms of mistreatment.