We’re Taking Action on Racial Inequity and Injustice

Illustration by Michelle Robinson // Instagram: @mister_michelle

We at Mangrove stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter in the struggle against systemic racism and injustice.

As a purpose-driven company and B Corp, it’s important that we do everything we can to understand how we as individuals and as a company perpetuate systemic injustice.

We have been deeply listening, exploring, and planning actionable next steps. At the present moment, we are sharing the more immediate actions we have either taken or plan to take in order to hold ourselves accountable. This list is by no means complete, and we will continue to reassess the steps that need to be taken to be better allies and business leaders.

Action steps we have already taken or are in the process of implementing:

We have:

• Paused our regular social media to take the time to amplify the voices of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and organizations working toward racial justice.
• Participated as a founding signatory of https://wethechange.net/black-lives-matter.
• Donated to organizations on the ground supporting Black-led organizations and protestors, including: Black Girls Code, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, We the Protest, City Joy, Hack the Hood, Black Lives Matter.

We continue to:

• Provide support to our Black team members in the form of PTO (Paid Time Off) and flexible deadlines so they can prioritize self-care as needed during an emotionally draining time.
  • Offer two full days of Paid Time Off for Black team members, and the opportunity to request more as needed.
  • Continually prioritize their personal needs over deadlines, and communicate to clients any changes in timeline or deadlines due to needed personal time for staff.
  • Financially cover registration funds for Black team members to be in healing spaces with the community. Event suggestions have been and will be provided, including beam.community, Day of Healing with Black Girls Code(webinar).
• Prioritize and offer our services pro-bono for clients that have made requests directly related to speaking up about racial justice during this time; i.e. fulfilling client requests for additional announcement banners, modals, etc. to make their anti-racist statements seen and heard.
• Match employee and contractor donations 1:1 to organizations supporting racial justice work through December 31, 2020.
• Re-evaluate hiring practices to be more inclusive by specifically identifying where and how we can post upcoming job opportunities to better reach a diverse audience. Resources we’ve found include:
  • https://infogram.com/jobboardv3-1hxj48l0eror6vg?live (comprehensive list by Kapor Center)
  • https://powertofly.com
  • https://diversityadvocates.com/signup
  • diversityworking.com
  • https://www.techhireoakland.org/employers
  • https://www.diversifytech.co/post-a-job
  • https://peopleofcolorintech.com
  • https://www.70millionjobs.com
  • https://www.bwork.com
• Provide our non-black employees with anti-racism resources and education.
• Engage our full team of extended contractors in creating our company’s commitments.
• Donate regularly to organizations supporting the education of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) in tech, including Hack the Hood, Black Girls Code, Techtonica, and Tech by Choice.

We plan to:

• Make Juneteenth a company-wide day of reflection, celebration, and rest from 2020 onward.
  • Match donations during the week of Juneteenth to Black-owned businesses and organizations.
  • Reimburse any team members for company-sponsored meals on Juneteenth from a Black-owned business.
• Clarify how our company is fighting systemic oppression within our team, organization, and society.
• Engage in ongoing DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) training for both our leadership and extended team. We are committing to selecting a company-wide DEI training series by August 2020.
• Revisit and revise our DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) statement by September 2020. Engage our contractors within this process and compensate them for their time and thoughts.
• Address the lack of diversity in our own industry specifically by supporting and amplifying organizations in tech that educate and/or support historically marginalized groups in the tech industry. A list of organizations we’ve identified to watch and support are outlined here: Black Voices in Tech and Design.

These are small steps on a long walk, and we will keep moving in the direction of progress and toward justice.

– the Mangrove Web Team