Recognizing Juneteenth

Tomorrow on June 19th, we commemorate the Juneteenth holiday in the United States, a date that marks the end of slavery in the U.S. and a date that has been ratified as a federal holiday in the U.S. as of yesterday. 

As a company, Clarity believes that we have a role to play in helping to establish Juneteenth as a recognised holiday. By halting our own operations for the day, we are joining companies around the U.S. in taking time to reflect on our past and take action for a better future. Whilst signing the bill to instate Juneteenth as a federal holiday, President Biden reflected that this moment was not just a celebration, but rather a call to action. A reminder of how far we’ve come, how long it has taken us to get to where we are today, and how much further we have to go. 

I am personally committed to ensuring that Clarity as a company is at the forefront of continuing to advance and advocate for systemic change and to create an equitable and inclusive environment for all our employees so that you feel safe and secure to do the same. In the last year, we have taken actions such as pledging $1mm in pro bono services to BIPOC-led business and joining the Diversity Marketing Consortium, but that is just a start. We have more work to do, and we will continue to commit our resources to BIPOC and women-led founders and entrepreneurs in the technology community.

This week, Clarity hosted an internal book club to discuss Ijeoma Oluo’s book, “So You Want to Talk about Race?” One member commented that this book should be required reading, and I quite agree. For systemic change to occur it is important to understand the history of racial inequality. Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery in the US, but also a moment of reflection, an opportunity to take time to learn how to challenge and interrupt behaviours that lead to racial discrimination - something we all should strive to do on a daily basis.

Today, and all days, I encourage my company to take pause and reflect on where they can re-examine your own behaviours to make the world a more equitable place for all. My pledge to the Clarity team is that I will be doing the same and together, we can become leaders in ending the racism that damages our communities and society overall. 

Photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash

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