Posts published in “The Oppy Allyship Series”

By Christine Tan

By now you might have seen this meme circulating on Twitter and Instagram, comically poking fun at the hollowness of messages on behalf of brands claiming to support the Black community. 

What has transpired since early June has been the “outing” of brands and CEOs that claim to support the Black community, but have failed to own up to their own shortcomings in anti-racist efforts within their own ranks. In other words, these companies are virtue signaling — showing support for a cause via a black Instagram tile without doing any internal work. Employees have been speaking up to decry not only a failure of diversity and inclusion programs, but toxic racist cultures and their leaderships’ attempts to subordinate Black talent at those companies. …

By Bryan Huang

What worked? What did we learn? How can we apply these answers to the Black Lives Matter movement?

To my LGBTQ+ family:

As Pride month kicks off, I find myself reflecting on the journey of the LGBTQ+ movement set against the backdrop of current events — the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the subsequent ongoing protests that have sprung up around the world. New York hosted World Pride last year (June 2019), marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the riots that started our movement.

To mark this momentous occasion, during the first half of 2019, social media was flooded with countless articles recounting the story of Stonewall.…

By Kathleen Dillon

In recent weeks, inboxes and social media feeds have been flooded with corporate responses to the death of George Floyd. Management consulting giant McKinsey & Company has been part of this outpouring of support for the Black community. On June 1, the company released a statement regarding the death of George Floyd, emphasizing its commitment to racial equality. Then on June 12, McKinsey outlined ten concrete actions it will take to address issues of racial injustice. While these actions should certainly be lauded, the firm’s ongoing work in the prison industry remains problematic and stands in blunt opposition to its stated commitment to racial equity.  …

By Raechel Shaw

There was a time I thought that it would never be me; could never be me. I have, after all, navigated this unfair world, unscathed by the horrors of racism. That is to say that I have never been pulled over (I rarely drive), followed while shopping (that I can recall) or called the n-word (to my face). That white lie, no pun intended, that I told myself — that it would never be me — ensured my survival.  I have flourished in white spaces (be it the prestigious K-12 or Ivy League undergraduate institutions that I attended or the large companies I have worked for), amassed white friends, and succeeded in colluding so as not to give any of them a reason to feel threatened by me.…