Lots of people – lots of non-black, well-intentioned people – are heartbroken by recent news for Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas. They think about racism and police brutality and how awful and senseless the deaths of young men like Philando Castile and Alton Sterling are.
Their deaths were senseless, but if you really want to help, don’t just write your congressmen.
That’s right.
Hire a minority. Pay a minority. Actively seek out a working person from a minority group to do the task you need help with.
Are you mad about inequality? I’m mad about inequality. But then I realized, when I need the services of an accountant or a professional, I go by word of mouth. Usually, the professionals I’m referred to are men – white men. I’ll find one or two, and ask them for quotes.
What if I went out of my way to find a third person, and to ask that person to provide an estimate too? What if I worked a little bit harder to find someone who’d had to work harder to get to where they are, and then asked them if they wanted to throw their hat in the ring?
It doesn’t need to be big purchase – it can be any purchase. Need some work done? Want someone to upholster something or fix a chair or anything? Find someone who doesn’t look like the existing model of success and – here’s the kicker – pay them fairly.
People of good will can do better.
