This letter was written by Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John McDonagh, and was posted on the GVCC website on Friday, June 5.
Our country finds itself in the grips of a global pandemic and in the grips of continuing injustice shown to our brown and black brothers and sisters, the result of systemic racism. I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing you all a bit of humor at the end of each week, but there are times when humor just isn’t appropriate. This is one of those times where we must set aside the jokes, and have a real discussion on what we can do as allies.
It is long past time that we address the systemic and pervasive racism present in too many of our institutions. Given the events in Minneapolis on May 25th in which George Floyd lost his life, the focus of the protests around the country has been on our police departments. The unfortunate reality is, racism is not restricted to police departments. It is found in our courts, in our corporations, schools, communities, and our neighborhoods.
What is being overlooked by many in this discussion is humanity. Many races make up the HUMAN race. It is time we started treating each other humanely and remembering we are all in the HUMAN race. The Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce is and will always be a big tent under which all businesses are welcome.
As a Chamber of Commerce dedicated to the sustainability and viability of businesses big and small, local, national, and global, and ethnically diverse – we strive to welcome all. We are aware, there are challenges that arise when joining an organization whose majority of members are not as diverse as it could be in ethnicity, background, and experiences. I’d like to take a moment and express how important it is to welcome all businesses and individuals, not only during this time, but for the success of our community. We encourage sharing different viewpoints and educating others to new ideas as we can all learn from each other.
Over the course of the past several years, the Greater Vancouver Chamber Board of Directors and staff have been engaged in ongoing conversations and efforts to ensure the inclusion and diversity of minority owned businesses to our membership. We are committed to serving the entire business community and you can look forward to being invited to conversations, difficult conversations, about how we can change this current culture of silence and dismissiveness.
We stand as an ally, alongside all who will denounce racism in all its forms.
Sincerely,
John McDonagh
President/CEO
Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce
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