In the wake of the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd, and so many others before him, the time for silence has passed. SILENCE IS UNACCEPTABLE. Racism has a past, it has a present, but it does not have to have a future!
It is time to choose a side. Will you be on the side of justice, fairness, and equity?
If you saw a child being abused, is it enough to say, “I’m not a child abuser.”
If you saw a bully hurting someone, is it enough to say, “I’m not a bully.”
It is not enough to say, “I’m not racist.”
It is time to stand up, be an ally, and be anti-racist.
To be an ally, listening and learning are integral steps in our journey. As white people in Canada, it is unfair to burden our colleagues and friends of colour to teach us about racism. Being intentional about expanding our knowledge and deepening our own personal anti-racism work begins here.
Today, society is rising up, we must all rise up. Racism does exist and it will take all of us, working together to end it. We are making a public commitment today, we must do better and we will.
First, to anyone who has ever experienced racism, micro-aggression, or inequality at Agilec (a customer, an employee, a community partner, anyone) we want to begin by apologizing. We did not think (or perhaps did not want to think) that racism was part of our construct, that white privilege was something that we needed to face. We believe in equity, diversity, and inclusion – we thought we were doing enough. The conversations over the past four weeks has awakened us – we are not doing enough. Racism is part of our construct and it impacts our friends and colleagues every day. White privilege is real, and it is something we need to acknowledge and eliminate ourselves. No one person is going to do this, it will take all of us.
Second, racism will not be tolerated at Agilec or by staff who represent Agilec. If you experience racism, or if you witness any form or racism within our offices or amongst our team members, report it immediately. Do not wait, we need to know, we can only stop what we can see.
Third, as leaders in business, we believe we have a larger role to play to tackle racism in our organization and in society. We are in action – we have a plan.
Lastly, we are beginning a discussion at Agilec so that our teams are educated and informed, and we can move together into action. The trauma that has plagued the Black community must end. We are standing up to fight systemic racism. To do this we must begin by looking within and finding ways to remove barriers and inequities at home – at Agilec.
This is our commitment.
Wendy Legere, Owner and CEO
Adrianne Haight, Owner and CIO
Danette Anthony, Owner and CSO
