Saying nothing and doing nothing is unacceptable.

Three months ago, a global pandemic engulfed the entire world. We’ve all been struggling through the loss, pain, risk, and confusion caused by this sudden sickness. COVID-19 has made one thing abundantly clear to anyone who is paying attention: the way we live and the choices we make fundamentally affect each other. 

A week ago, George Floyd’s brutal death shined a light on a different, long standing sickness in our country: systemic racism and injustice against people of color.

I don’t possess any special insights on the topic of social justice. I don’t profess to know the answers to racism, inequality or injustice. In fact, I’m still learning how to ask the right questions. I’m learning how to step outside of my privileged frame of reference so I can see things clearly.

I’ve spent the last week reading, watching, listening, learning… distraught and distressed by what I’m witnessing in our country. Then I began asking:

1. What can I do — as an individual — to make a real, positive difference?
2. What can I do — as a leader —  to make a real, positive difference?
3. What can I do — as a marketer — to make a real, positive difference?

These are big questions… questions that I am personally committed to asking and answering over and over again in the coming weeks and months. I have a lot to learn. A lot to see. A lot of listening to do.

But I already know this: saying nothing and doing nothing is unacceptable.

So here are a few things we are doing at Intelligent Demand:

• We are donating to Black Lives Matter and Campaign Zero in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others
• We are donating $5,000 in free agency services for any client who will let us help them connect one of their marketing campaigns to a social justice topic before the end of 2020
• We are committing to listening, to learning, to serving as a witness, to being better allies, and to ACTING on our beliefs more effectively in our daily lives, both personal and professional

Each of us has a choice about how we respond to the extraordinary times in which we find ourselves. Each of us can see differently, act differently, and change things for the better. We can place our hands on the long arc of the moral universe and help it bend toward justice if we want to.

We are committed to doing our part — not just this week. But in the coming weeks and months. 

Reach out to me personally or anyone on the team here at Intelligent Demand if you’d like to join forces.