Institutional racism exists in Tech and VC too, and we must combat it
A brief note from my friend Hanad, an Associate Project Manager at M Accelerator in LA, Black creators to watch, and articles to read on defunding the police.
Last week I tweeted out saying business is not as usual. I still think any ‘social analysis’ take on the current climate is disingenuous to the movement that’s taking place in our country and wanted to dedicate this to sharing resources + amplifying voices.
That being said I want to amplify my black friends and creators I support. I asked my friend Hanad, who I met from entrepreneurial orgs at UCLA, if he had any thoughts he wanted to share. Namely, working in VC or Tech there are systemic issues we sweep under the rug every day. Many VC’s and companies are virtue signaling of how they are against racism with blanket pr statements while failing to recognize they are part of the problem or proposing ways to combat racism.
His note:
Working in Tech and VC, it might be tempting to think that because you’re in a vertical that is highly educated and in liberal cities, you’re in spaces removed from whatever possesses the screaming bigots we see go viral every few months.
Well, one of us did go viral. On the same weekend that Ahmaud Arberry, a black man jogging in a neighborhood, was followed and murdered by 3 white self-deputized citizens, Tom Austin, former managing partner at F2 Ventures in Minneapolis, Minnesota went viral for accusing a group of young black entrepreneurs of “not belonging” in a WeWork facility gym.
He is seen in the video calling the police on these men despite their insistence that they lease an office in the building and have every right to be in that gym too. The video is appalling and it's a glance at an ugly reality I’ve been witness to as a Black man in this field. Black people are thought of “not belonging” in the spaces of our peers like Tom Austin. They do not have a place in VC and Tech. I may personally have found my place but when I look around, I can’t say the same opportunity has been afforded to much else Black people.
Within tech and entrepreneurship, we seem to have some diversity in recent years, white people and a whole spectrum of Asian people. But there is a stark absence of black voices and faces. Black people are seriously underrepresented in the tech industry nationwide and made up only “3.1 percent” of the workforce of the top 8 Tech companies in America in 2017.
Black representation in Venture Capital is even more abysmal, 81 Percent of VC firms don’t have a single black investor.
In a 2015 report, black founders received a “mere one percent of venture capital (VC)” despite making up 12 percent of the U.S population. Lack of access to capital for black people is an assuredly systemic problem in America and it is echoed in the VC space.
If we are to accept that racism is something that is ingrained into the institutions of America, we need to stop ignoring the issue that pervades in our home turf. Whether someone has or has not acted like Tom Austin within our vertical, our vertical has told black people they do not belong.
It is not enough to be not racist, we have to be anti-racist to break down the mechanisms that block black people from joining us. Instead of looking to find anecdotal examples to dismiss the barriers black people face, I urge you to use the resources at your disposal to educate yourself further on the issue of black underrepresentation in Tech and VC, champion initiatives that drive inclusivity, and amplify the voices of your black peers.
Black people belong in Tech and we belong in VC.
Black Creators
Even the creator world suffers from this inherent bias. Black creators are hard to find in mainstream niches. Working at FS for a bit, I saw this disparity first-hand when I was drafting talent recommendations for client proposals and always made an effort to diversify the roster. Here are a few that I continuously watch.
Currently living in New York, Sneako’s take on content is raw, highly unfiltered and offensive. Even if you may not agree with everything he says, he strongly articulates his message and gets you to think. As a 21-year-old, mixed American he’s built this loyal following that doesn’t need trendy thumbnails or catchy titles. Almost all his videos are demonetized but he makes a living off his merch and Patreon.
Calling her fans the Stampede. Kelly is refreshing. Her humor is dry, intelligent, quirky without trying too hard. She makes her vids feel like early days of youtube creators, no crazy thumbnails and actual conversational topics. She just 24 and many of her videos revolve around productivity, solitude and identity.
Dan uploads all original audios on TikTok and makes his on take on every trend. H is consistently hitting 1M views on most vids he posts. short quick-witted commentary with plenty of inside jokes with his fans - No one’s seen his hair yet, why is his basement ceiling so broken, and his range of accents… Def one of my favorite TikTok creators.
Few more to shout out:
Things I’ve been consuming
Abolish the police? Organizers say it’s less crazy than it sounds.
Really good article breaking down what defunding looks like rn in specific Chicago communities and the work being paved towards that.
‘Defund LAPD’ becomes rallying cry at protests. Unrest has intensified the debate
Looking into LA’s budget plans and opening the conversation about the People’s Budget LA.
NYT’s op-ed about defunding the police that everyone keeps posting small snippets of.
