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As an aftermath to the death of George Floyd and as part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement, you have probably seen companies post public statements of solidarity on LinkedIn and across other social media.
It was our first instinct to do so as well. We believe Black lives matter and stand in solidarity with the Black community as the fight against institutionalized injustice and racism continues. This is a stance we take without wavering.
Yet, as we were preparing for how we wanted to communicate with our community, we had a moment of pause. What were we adding to the conversation? What meaningful action had we taken as allies? What meaningful actions were we taking as an organization? We realized: not enough.
We’ve taken the past few days to deliberately slow down and understand what meaningful and sustained action we can take as allies to this movement.
Here’s what we’re committing to doing as a company, and what you can do as an individual to affect positive change in your community.
Upholding our community value of Respect
Continuing to ensure the safety and comfort of our carpoolers. When Scoop started in 2015, we sought to create a community that was welcoming, open, and inclusive. Our community guidelines reflect this, and also help make this mission a reality. Our community guideline pillar of Respect is especially relevant now.
Respect in a Scoop carpool means being inclusive of carpoolers with different backgrounds, opinions, and lifestyles, and being thoughtful in how you speak to other carpoolers. We have no tolerance for discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, or sexual orientation.
We take violations of our community guidelines very seriously, and we’ll continue to address any community concerns quickly.
Note: If you are ever in a Scoop carpool where you think community guidelines are not being honored, please contact us.
Learning and listening. As we continue to work on making Scoop an inclusive workplace, we will focus on practicing allyship by empowering current team members to leverage their voice and actions to support marginalized communities present both within and outside of Scoop’s walls.
This includes giving team members time off to volunteer, protest, or otherwise contribute their time and effort toward worthwhile causes.
Learn more about what allyship means.
What you can do
Keep the conversation going. While you may not be carpooling today, your Scoop community is still around you—your neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Start conversations within your community and be open to listening and learning about others’ experiences.
Live the values that are reflected in our community guidelines. Our community guidelines of Respect, Teamwork, and Authenticity are more important now than ever.
Read Scoop’s community guidelines.
Reach out to lawmakers and community leaders. Make your opinion known on how your local government is approaching the current climate. Call, email, or attend a virtual town hall meeting and voice your questions or concerns.
Donate your time or money. Many of us are searching for ways we can give back and live our values. Here is a list of organizations selected by Scoop’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force for you to consider if you’re looking for recommendations:
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. Follow your local chapter to learn what’s going on in your neighborhood and how you can support the movement.
Movement for Black Lives
The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) was created as a space for Black organizations across the country to:
- Debate and discuss the current political conditions
- Develop shared assessments of what political interventions are necessary in order to achieve key policy, cultural, and political wins
- Convene organizational leadership in order to debate and co-create a shared movement-wide strategy
See their Defending Black Lives call to action for ways you can support.
Campaign Zero
Funds donated to Campaign Zero support the analysis of policing practices across the country, research to identify effective solutions to end police violence, technical assistance to organizers leading police accountability campaigns, and the development of model legislation and advocacy to end police violence nationwide. The #8cantwait project data and policies that decrease police violence.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
NAACP works to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. Their call-to-action campaign entitled #WeAreDoneDying aims to expose the inequities embedded into the American healthcare system and the country at large.
We will continue to use our voice and our platform to stand against institutionalized injustice and racism. If you have any questions or concerns on our community guidelines, or want to voice your thoughts, please reach out to us.
