June 12, 2020 - Guest: Yusuf George

In this episode of Solutions News, we hope you will appreciate as we look for some Solutions to the ongoing inequalities that exist between different communities in our nation that’s supposed to be all about equality and justice for all. One area that must play a role in healing these divides that have plagued our nation since the beginning is the private sector, and particularly business – as one of, if not THE most powerful institutions in the USA.

Last week we started this show with a piece we called, Half Slave, Half Free, observing the reality that people of color are not equal in this country; and, that this condition is a fundamental challenge to our “Union” as envisioned by Abraham Lincoln. Hopefully, after the last two weeks of international protests, we are ready to get creative. It is not enough to “wish” racism away. It is not enough to “hope” it goes away. It is not enough to ignore the reality of 400 years since slavery reached our shores and somehow “forget” what has happened. It is not enough to cease being a racist or to continue with a belief that one is neutral, and has no responsibility in this fight. It is now incumbent on all of us who believe that this is a country based on equality to actively be anti-racist. What does this mean? It means, that whites have accumulated the majority of power in our society so it means whites must be the source of the solution. People of color have been too marginalized to create equality. As Emmanuel Acho observed, it will take a “White Solution.”

South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn recently observed that with few exceptions almost every white person who came to our shores did so voluntarily seeking a better life. And, tragically, with very few exceptions the ancestors of our fellow Black Americans were brought here under duress as slaves. These enslaved people built this nation with the sweat of their brows and labored to co-create with us the wealth that became the United States even though the horror of Reconstruction. They labored to work our farms and build our factories through the incredible indignities of the Jim Crow era.

We are excited to discuss these themes with our guest tonight – Mr. Yusuf George, the Managing Director of Capital Engagement for JUST Capital, and the author of a recent article in FORBES about Corporate Responsibility for healing the racial divide.
(Producer: Kristy Jansen)