I don’t have the right words to describe the situation in Des Moines and across our country after the murder of George Floyd—I certainly don’t have any answers. Like many of you I’m angry, sad and fearful all at the same time. I love being a part of our community and our community is hurting in a way that I’ve never experienced in my lifetime.
I’ve struggled a lot with what to say or if I should say anything at all. I don’t know—as a white man—if I should be commenting on anything right now. Last night I was walking my dog through my neighborhood in the near suburbs west of Des Moines, thinking about the crisis in our country and listening to podcasts. This is something that I get to do regularly and freely without even garnering a second look from neighbors or police because of the color of my skin. I happened to be listening to an interview on this subject with Iowa State basketball coach Steve Prohm when he said something that clicked: when you have a platform it is your job to use it.
Well, I guess I have a platform so here goes: I believe that Black Lives Matter. I know that I was born with a level of privilege and whatever success I’ve had in life is built upon the luck of those circumstances. I believe that the criminal justice system doesn’t treat all people the same and must change. I know that we can all do more to be better.
Smarter people than I are wrestling with the question of “so what do we do?” right now but here are three things I’ve read from others that make sense as a start:
Make sure that what we’re seeing and feeling today isn’t about just this moment but rather lasting change. —Coach Steve Prohm
“White silence” about racism perpetuates this unacceptable system in the future generations. We must go further and teach “antiracism” to our children. —Dr. Jennifer Harvey
“If we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform.” —President Barack Obama
As a leader with my team at Gravitate Coworking, amongst our community in Des Moines and with the entrepreneurial ecosystem all over the state, I want to be part of the change. We have a lot of work to do and are always open to thoughts, suggestions and questions to help us get there.
Geoff Wood
Owner, Gravitate Coworking