Friday Greetings!
It has been a while since I have had time to write with issues my family was facing during this pandemic which included having to move and figuring out a safe living situation for my 82-year-old mother. Long story but all is finally back to as much normal as there is right now. You all have been in my thoughts and prayers all this time and I apologize for not having been in touch.
Our country has been through a lot with the pandemic and the economic destruction it has wrought. I think we will see that the recent market rally was not reflective of the work we have ahead of us both economically and socially. As absolutely heartbreaking as the death of George Floyd is, and it is nothing less than a tragedy, I think the bright side of the pandemic (if there is such a thing), is that as a society, there was nothing to distract us from Mr. Floyd’s murder and I pray that his death and the demonstrations that followed change us as a society forever for the good.
As my readers know, I focus on inequality and discrimination in the workplace and it is the reason TXWSW focuses our charitable efforts on YWPN. I truly believe that what all of us want is the chance at a better life for our children. We all want an education and opportunity, and to quote the Civil Rights Act, for all of us regardless of race, color, national origin, sex etc. Since our founding, this country has had a racism problem. The passing of the Civil Rights Act was supposed to change that, but one need only look at the population of our prisons, our dismal record on public education and the statistics on diversity in all professions to know we have failed. And what we know through our work over the past decade with YWPN is that when you give our most precious resource, children, a chance at an education where everyone is treated with respect and kindness regardless of their skin color, these children go on to do great things which is a gift we all benefit from.
To quote Theodore Roosevelt “This country will not be a good place to live in if it is not a reasonably good place for all of us to live in.” For far too long this has been a pretty rough place to live in for people of color, and our society is poorer for it because real strength cannot exist without diversity. To quote another President Roosevelt, “human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people.”
So not only do we need to fix the issue of racism and injustice in our policing, but we need to address the cradle to grave economic inequity that black Americans face because economic equality is critical to achieving racial equality. To quote from a recent article “dollars are like air — crucial to vitality. And when it comes to wealth, black Americans have less at nearly every juncture of life, from birth to death. Perversely, having less can cost more. Black students borrow more to go to college, don’t finish as often and more frequently default on their student loans. They earn less, and generally have lower credit scores — so they pay higher interest rates. It’s harder for them to save for retirement, and they leave less to the next generation when they die.” Rinse repeat. And so the cycle of racial inequality will continue unless economic equality is also addressed. A great article on this subject can be found here.
I will also leave you with some other weekend reading here: America is Raging. Listen to what is being Said. Five Ways White People Can be Helpful Right Now For Black Professionals, Unrest Lays Bear a Balancing Act at Work Economics, Dominated by White Men, Is Roiled by Black Lives Matter Corporate America Has Failed Black America 
On the good news front, TXWSW will be starting virtual events for you this month. We have a great line up of speakers we are working on. We will also be producing our State of the Markets event in the fall through zoom. Thanks to our wonderful marketing director and committee heads, we will be getting that information to you early next week. In terms of networking, please do not forget that our TXWSW GROUP on LinkedIn is private. You can use that to reach out to your fellow members to network, ask for resources or job hunt. Please also feel free to post any useful information that you would like to share with our community.
Thank you for reading. I am glad to be back with you. We will be in touch early next week with the event information!
I would ask each of you to consider corporate sponsorship of TXWSW. Benefits include attendance at our flagship events and recognition for your firm.  And most importantly, you help us support the life-changing work of the Young Women’s Preparatory Network. To learn more about YWPN, you can find a short video here. To learn more and sponsorship, you may find our sponsor information here. Additionally, we would be happy to create a custom sponsorship for you. Please contact Bianca King at developmentdirector@txwsw.com
All my best to you and your family.