Together we stand.

Our Pledge with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group

We know that sitting on the sidelines in times of racial injustice is unacceptable. As Innovation Economy CEOs, through the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, we are humbled and challenged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words of wisdom and life of service. We must stand up for what is right and speak out against what is wrong. Racism is wrong.

The brutal and senseless death of George Floyd is deplorable to each of us, and made even more intolerable when added to the many other acts of violence against people of color in communities across our country.

We stand with the Black community for whom this is a particularly painful time. We rise up in support of organizations dedicated to racial justice, peaceful action and economic equality. We applaud the efforts of the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, the African American Community Services Agency and so many others who have served as the voice for the voiceless.

As CEOs and members of our Bay Area business community, we recognize that words must be accompanied by deeds. In the days and weeks ahead, we pledge united action to eradicate racism with other community leaders in substantive and specific ways, such as:

Awareness & Equity:

Silicon Valley executives and our employees have much to learn from a deeper dialogue with our communities of color and underserved communities. By increasing our awareness and coming together, we can build bridges and increase our level of collective understanding of the challenges that exist.

Transparency & Accountability:

Silicon Valley’s innovation economy can play a deeper, positive and proactive role in using data to offer information on the ways in which law enforcement professionals can best serve and protect all of our communities, in particular our communities of color, and live up to the highest standards of integrity and service.

Policy & Community:

Silicon Valley employers can strengthen our focus on systemic areas of ingrained bias, to broaden opportunities for all of our communities; including education and workforce preparation; bridging the digital divide, battling food insecurity; embracing environmental justice; fighting for fair housing as well as championing transit and health equity.