Our Values Will Be With Us at Work

My mission as a professional coach is to serve anyone who asks me to work with them. That’s true even when a potential client has very different philosophical, political, or spiritual beliefs. I’m happy to coach someone even if they vote for different candidates than I do or spend their time very differently on Sunday mornings.

I understand why a business might be tempted to remain as politically neutral as possible. I understand why people might want to draw a clear line between their personal beliefs and their professional life. Taking a strong stand or expressing certain views might alienate a large number of people who can choose to take their business somewhere else.

At this moment I am very willing to take that risk. I encourage others to do the same. Some issues are too important to ignore, especially fundamental issues of liberty, justice, and human dignity.

For centuries Black people in this country have suffered from almost every imaginable form of violence and oppression. For far too long and in too many ways, our society as a whole has ignored, tolerated, and condoned this violence and oppression. In too many ways, we still do.

Imagine if, instead, every day of their life, every Black person was reminded that they matter, too. Imagine if they could see this message on every street that they drive or walk down, in every building that they enter, and on every web site that they visit. Imagine seeing this simple message, “Black Lives Matter,” proudly and sincerely displayed everywhere, by people of all races: on the storefronts of small businesses, in the lobbies of the corporate headquarters of Fortune 500 companies, on the front lawns of suburban neighborhoods, and on the South Lawn of the White House.

This is not all that needs to be done. But right now it would be a step in the right direction.

Does this seem like too much to ask? Does it seem objectionable, or like a quaint but unrealistic fantasy? I don’t think it is. For literally centuries, and in almost every imaginable way, Black people have been told that their lives do not matter. If that has been tolerated, why is what I’m suggesting here somehow unreasonable?

I believe that all human beings have a fundamental right to life and liberty. I believe that those in authority have a fundamental responsibility to exercise their authority in a just and respectful way. I believe that Black lives matter.

These are values that I hold dear. I don’t leave them behind when I go to work. They will show up with me.

I see you. I hear you. I stand with you. Black lives matter.