Clockwork - Black Lives Matter

A letter from our CEO

We cannot be complicit

There are no words to describe the brutal and inhumane way in which George Floyd’s life was taken at the hands of four police officers from Minneapolis. The events that followed were a reflection of the pain, tremendous heartbreak, frustration, and outrage of people everywhere. But George Floyd’s story is not an isolated one. That kind of treatment is an accepted reality for Black and Brown people all over this country every day.

White people want to resist the harsh truth about white supremacy. That truth is clear: white supremacy is a historically significant, institutionally pervasive system through which we have exploited Black and Brown people for stolen wealth, power, and privilege. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to racism and white supremacy. White people cannot move forward without acknowledging each of our roles in the perpetuation of systems of racism. White people cannot move forward without starting to examine how each of us has benefited from that stolen privilege and power. And it is time for each of us to commit to putting real money, energy, and time toward dismantling these systems once and for all.

Black Lives Matter. Black lives matter in our streets. Black lives matter in our cities and towns. Black lives matter in our schools and churches and gathering spaces. Black lives matter in our government and our financial institutions and our systems of healthcare. Black lives matter in our homes. And Black lives matter in our workplaces. This is not an issue of politics. This is an issue of humanity and decency and truth. And white people can no longer shy away from our role in ensuring this truth is heard and honored and believed and lived by all humans.

Discussions about justice, human rights, and equity are hollow if we are not working to ensure lived equality for Black and Brown people. None of us are free until Black Lives Matter.

Companies must take action

And so, Clockwork stands in solidarity with protestors and activists insisting that we finally dismantle systems of racism and white supremacy. Clockwork is committed to the global fight for Black lives. And it is a fight. The pain of the last two weeks can only move us forward if we all continue to fight for justice beyond this moment. White businesses and companies must explicitly work to dismantle white supremacy and systemic racism. Companies cannot be silent. After the cameras, after the crowds, after the world has stopped watching we will not be silent. We will not be done.

It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and everyone around us about white supremacy.

It is our responsibility to change policies, listen, include, and center Black voices in what those policies should be.

It is our responsibility to find resources and share resources to make progress, and our responsibility to equitably pay the black educators who lead us.

Our roadmap

In 2018, Clockwork established a goal of becoming an organization that leads by example by demonstrating race equity in action. We have established an internal roadmap to which we hold ourselves accountable. We share this list of actions we have taken to not only continue to stay focused on making progress but also provide an example of what other companies can do. We are in no way patting ourselves on the back, but we are committed to continuing efforts to dismantle systems of racism within our organization and community.

The roadmap in pursuit of our goals is a work in progress. Over the last few years we have initiated activities that include, but are not limited to, the following:

We have outlined an anti-racist/race equity plan and shared that plan with our staff and in 2016 we created the MN Tech Diversity Pledge to challenge our colleagues in the region to commit to being intentional about racial equity.
The MN Tech Diversity pledge community activity continues to create spaces for sharing resources and information, discussing mistakes and sharing research, etc.
We have engaged in training for the staff and leadership with such thought leaders and organizations as Nekima Levy Armstrong, Desiree Adaway, The Brand Lab, and the Penumbra Theater.
We have piloted a Women of Color Apprenticeship program and have seen three women move through this program since its inception.
We intentionally channel our philanthropic dollars and pro bono activities in support of Black and Brown led organizations.

We sponsor BIPOC events and organizations through monetary contributions and by making our space available for education, workshops, fundraising, and special events.
We partner with a variety of organizations serving BIPOC communities including, but not limited to, The Brand Lab (hosted students, interns, assistance with testing tools and programs, mentors on staff), Step Up, and RISE.
We created and communicated pay bands to allow for a quantitative review of inequities.
We created a review process for all vendor partners, specifically targeting vendors with BIPOC ownership.
All catering partners are now BIPOC owned.

We actively share our lists of vendors and partners with business partners and clients.
We reviewed our 2020 benefits renewals using BIPOC and values lens.
We have encouraged the creation of a staff-lead affinity group for BIPOC.
We adjusted our recruiting efforts to elevate and engage BIPOC candidates and networks and to track progress to hold ourselves accountable.
We have adjusted the language of job postings, interview prep communications, and candidate communications (informing candidates of our commitment to having a representative pool before advancing the process).
We provided additional staff training for interviewing candidates.
We have a solid Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) in place.

Our commitment

We are committed to continuing to record our actions as we pursue race equity and awareness and we will hold ourselves accountable in our progress.

We are by no means suggesting that we, as an organization, are fully racially aware, but we are committed to the journey and we are swiftly altering behaviors and practices to ensure that we’re constantly pushing ourselves, and the white companies and businesses we work with, to be better. After all the volunteer hours and food drives, the real work continues. Our community is strong and flawed; hopeful and responsible. All eyes are on us now and there is so much work to do. Clockwork is committed to the work.

— Nancy Lyons, Clockwork CEO

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blacklivesmatter.com