In response to the killing of George Floyd, my partner Matt Weinberg sent the following message to our team the week of June 1. We are sharing this publicly now to add our voice to the many calling for changes in the systems that are failing to serve our communities.
Hi all,
George Floyd’s killing was only the most recent example of a long history of unfair and unequal treatment of minorities, especially black people, in this country.
The subsequent denunciations and citizen protests – the vast majority of which have been peaceful – have made it clear that Americans are tired of hearing that things will magically get better on their own. As a society and as humans, we are right to be angry, sad, and even afraid.
Happy Cog stands against racism, against hate, and against injustice. Happy Cog stands for diversity, inclusion, compassion, and equality.
As a company we have people of every color, religion, and sexual orientation. That’s invaluable because it helps us bring diverse voices and viewpoints to our work.
We will be making a donation to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which “seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans”. They work to help all minority groups.
Additionally, while none of us have all the answers, we would like to find ways to help more and do better. We ask you to share your ideas, including by reaching out to me or any partner directly if you prefer, on what we can be doing in the future.
Thanks everyone.
Happy Cog will always stand up for what we value and believe in as a company. Beyond immediate financial contributions, we are taking a longer term view into what actions we can take to bring about change. We have much to learn and work on in order to get there, and that goal will never be “complete”; there will always be more we can do. This type of change cannot and will not happen overnight, but we are committed to fighting this fight with our words and our actions through sustained effort and commitment now and for years to come. We will be working hard to understand ways we can improve ourselves and the industry as a whole, and look forward to sharing what we’ve learned with our team and colleagues.