Be on the Right Side of History

Life

Transcript

Hey CascadiaJS!

Claudius Mbemba here!

Last year I was on stage talking to you guys about scalable distributed messaging with kafka!

And today, I’m coming to you, from the grandness of my living room.

Man, what a difference a year can make, especially 2020.

But I’m here today to talk to you guys about something much deeper than tech.

For everyone, and especially as a black man, the past months in America have been both heart-breaking and encouraging!

We saw a monumental shift in addressing the systemic racism, whether out-right or implicit bias, built into America.

I’m encouraged by the number of allies who reached out just to check-in me, including our organizer Carter Rabasa.

And the countless protesters who still aren’t resting, until we all can equally pursue the American Dream.

And that’s why I’m here today.

As a quick reminder that Communities of Color are still endangered.

I know it may no longer be the main talking-point but I urge us to not fall back into our complacent ways.

The enemy of anti-racism, isn’t racism. It’s actually complacency.

2020 has brought you many hardships.

That I’m sure of.

But keep in mind that Communities of Color are also experiencing these along with the added hurdle of systemic racism.

You have a voice and a vote. And I’m imploring you to use both.

To our Allies. Speak out against systemic racism in all communities. But especially black and brown ones because, sadly, our voices don’t carry as far on their own.

We need your voice and alliship to amplify the message.

With your help we will end systemic racism in America.

To People of Color. Speak to your allies about your personal experience with systemic racism.

Encourage them to amplify your shared experiences and message.

If you’re still not sure where to start, start by getting educated.

Here are 2 books I highly recommend.

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo.

and “How To Be Anti-Racist” by Ibram X. Kendi.

And more importantly start here – by believing, this day and always, that BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Thank you for your time!

– Claudius