We, the Hispanic Business Club (U.S. Domestic Latinxs) stand in solidarity, with our Black communities—including our Afro-Latinx hermanxs—here in the United States and around the world. We join our Black familia in fighting for a more equitable and just society.
As Latinx MBAs, we have a responsibility to further opportunities for Black people at every level of our economic infrastructure, and to create more inclusive spaces where everyone feels safe, valued, and given the opportunity to thrive.
The systemic racism that drives the lack of justice for Black people—for George Floyd, for Breonna Taylor, for Ahmaud Arbery, and for countless others—murdered by police and white supremacists, is the same systemic racism that leads Black people to be denied access to leadership positions and roles that shape the allocation of institutional capital.
The norm is often that few Black people are in leadership and management positions across industries and organizations. This tokenism is not enough. We need the Latinx MBA community to not only realize that, but to take individual action to combat the systemic inequities that create the exclusionary environments we see across corporate America.
As Latinx MBAs, we recognize that we are a very privileged group with access to resources and spaces that many people in our broader community do not have. Furthermore, we acknowledge that, for many of us, our proximity to whiteness allows us to benefit from colorism and white supremacist structures in the United States, in Latin America, and around the world.
Above all, we know that what we need most right now and in the long-term is ACTION. We choose to use our privilege to help dismantle systems of oppression and we commit to use our networks, skills and resources to help advance and uplift the Black community in the following ways:
- Elevating Afro-Latinx leadership ensuring representation within MIT Sloan, and amplifying Afro-Latinx voices across our membership and programming. This is needed across ALL organizations, but we are starting at our own home base first.
- Educating our own community on anti-Blackness, including hosting community sessions and creating a bilingual discussion guide for Latinxs to use when discussing anti-Blackness with their own friends and family.
- Being better allies on a daily basis, including disseminating a resource guide for non-Black Latinx leaders to leverage when advocating for Black representation and combating systemic racism in the workplace and in the classroom.
We continue to listen and grow our understanding of how to do better and we invite you to join us. When our Black familia has access to more opportunities, the whole world benefits
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
In strength and solidarity,
MIT Sloan's Hispanic Business Club in Partnership with the Latinx MBA Association