It took an 8 min 46 sec video of George Floyd’s death to turn the light on long standing challenges of race and social justice.

We challenged ourselves, others and organizations to recognize what was happening, to understand its origins and impact, and after taking a deep breath…to do something that would make a difference.

We stumbled, and fumbled to have difficult conversations. We sought ways to provide safe space, to do more listening, to show we genuinely cared and, for some, to carefully acknowledge they could never understand what it was like to be Black.

Was it a waste of empathy? Almost a year later, how much further have we come? If you can never fully understand…..if you can not find one instance in which you felt what happened to you was related to you being different, you are right, you can never understand…..But if you do not take it personally, if you do not feel it personally, how much difference could you actually make?

Take the next 7 minutes and 46 seconds to risk directing empathy toward yourself. If you can recall SOME of the pain or embrace SOME of the pleasure of being different, YOU… can make a difference.  And right now, we need more than ever to make a real difference.

Let’s talk.

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