A Statement of Support: Black Lives Matter in Medford
Medford Cowork Collective and Virtual Main Street mourn the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless other Black people at the hands of police. We stand resolutely for peace, justice, accountability, and fair treatment of our Black community members and all people of color. Standing in solidarity with the victims of systemic racism and their families, we are committed to taking action against racism and discrimination in all its forms. The humanity and dignity of Black people must be honored and respected in our coworking space, on Main Street, in Medford, and in the United States. Black lives matter.
Protest in downtown Medford, June 6, 2020. Photo by Travis Toll.
“Every seven minutes, a Black person dies prematurely in the United States,” says social scientist David R. Williams citing extensive data.
These deaths are not random. Black drivers are 30% more likely to be pulled over than white drivers. Black people make up 40% of our prison population, despite being only 13% of our total population. The statistics are staggering on any metric. This is not correlation without causation. There is a direct throughline between surveillance of Black people and law enforcement.
Laws that suppress Black people are peppered throughout the history of America, in so many directions, that it’s led to racism within housing, employment, schooling, imprisonment, entertainment, and everywhere else.
We invite you to take action
Demand accountability from our leaders and law enforcement. Policy reform can lead to justice. For example, Portland Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty is calling on us to reach out to state legislators to amend Oregon’s Officers’ Bill of Rights (ORS 236.360), the state law that protects officers engaged in misconduct.
This is a big part of American history. And Oregon history.
Read more about sundown laws and Medford here. Protest in downtown Medford, June 6, 2020. Photo by Travis Toll.
“Oregon was founded on the notion of creating a racist white utopia and on the removal, exploitation, or exclusion of all people of color,” writes historian and reporter Walidah Imarisha. We cannot forget that we established a Black exclusion law in 1844, criminalizing the “very presence of Black people in the Pacific Northwest.” Oregon did not drop racial discrimination from the constitution until 1927 (less than a century ago). It is no surprise that sundown signs were present in Jackson County until the 1960s.
As a result of structural racism, Black people are significantly more likely to contract COVID-19. In fact, “racial inequities actually exist not only for COVID-19, but for almost every disease,” David R. Williams says. The coronavirus “is simply becoming a magnifying glass that helps us to see some longstanding shortfalls in health that have existed for minority populations.” Systemic racism has created social policies, favoritism, prejudice, and fear that “have created pervasive social and economic inequities in the United States.”
Williams’ research on the Everyday Discrimination Scale captures ways in which the dignity and the respect of people who society does not value is chipped away on a daily basis. Systemic racism is killing Black lives, and Black-owned businesses. The system isn’t broken. The system is rigged.
We have watched from our downtown Medford coworking space as hundreds of protestors have shown up, day after day, for the last week, to peacefully protest against racial injustice, and for racial equality. We stand with the protestors (literally and metaphorically) in this cause. Racism and racial inequality is deeply embedded in our society, and the advantages of feeling safe are routinely denied to people of color, whether shopping, walking in a park, jogging, or exercising the right to be heard. Injustices are further compounded by health disadvantages, and institutional barriers to wealth and business building. As a community of entrepreneurs, we grieve this historical inequality. I, Abigail, personally acknowledge the racism and implicit bias embedded in me.
Caption: Protest in downtown Medford, June 6, 2020. Photo by Travis Toll.
Resources for Progress
It is important that white Oregonians do the work. “The opposite of ‘racist’ isn’t ‘not racist,’ it is ‘antiracist,’” writes Ibram X. Kendi in How to Be an Antiracist. Medford Cowork Collective challenges our white members and community to realize our privilege and do our own research:
Recognize and denounce utilitarianism,
Actively consume anti-racist resources.
Take a pause before posting about our work -- performative wokeness is not helpful.
MCC’s commitments
In addition to the work we do internally, our community of entrepreneurs also is making these changes.
CONFERENCE ROOM CREDITS: Local groups creating programming and resources to eliminate racial inequality can apply to use our conference and meeting room spaces free of charge. To get more info on this program, sign up here.
DONATIONS: MCC is a for-profit business, and while I hid under the “we are still paying off our start up debt” as an excuse to not start paying it forward, it is one of the most effective ways to empower and elevate a voice besides my own. For the months of July, August, and September, I commit to giving away 3% of gross membership revenue to the organizations outlined below.
For 2020 Q4, I will ask our membership community to help shape our giving, and invite members and the greater Medford community to participate in a matching campaign. Our community’s structural foundation must be built upon sharing our community resources with others, especially those impacted by institutional racial barriers.
Entrepreneurs face multiple barriers when it comes to starting and growing successful businesses. But as a Black or minority-owned business, those barriers are compounded by institutional and racial barriers. Our ecosystems and economies will not thrive if we continue to leave out Black entrepreneurs from narratives, funding efforts, programs, and initiatives.
CODE2040: Code2040 is a nonprofit activating, connecting, and mobilizing the largest racial equity community in tech to dismantle the structural barriers that prevent the full participation and leadership of Black and Latinx technologists in the innovation economy. Through events, trainings, early-career programs, and knowledge sharing, Code2040 equips Black and Latinx technologists and their allies with the tools, connections, and care they need to advocate for and achieve racial equity in the tech industry.
Accion: Accion is a nonprofit, community organization dedicated to helping small business owners succeed and thrive. We provide fairly priced, flexible loans to a diverse group of entrepreneurs. In fact, over 60% of our borrowers come from minority communities. Getting financing for a small business can be difficult, and securing the capital needed to start or grow a small business can be even tougher for minority-owned businesses and minority entrepreneurs. Despite that, minority-owned businesses have been growing at twice the national average, and immigrants are nearly twice as likely as native-born Americans to start businesses. Accion is committed to helping minority-owned businesses.
Outcomes matter
We are committed to continuing to listen, learn, talk, and act to dismantle racism. We will continue to roll out events, strategies, and funding to work towards this goal. Reach out with your ideas for collective action.