Our hearts break for the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many innocent Black lives cut short by a system that consistently and pervasively dehumanizes them. We acknowledge the intense pain experienced by diverse communities across America that are exposed daily to institutional racism, discrimination, and acts of violence.
These recent murders have caused a justifiable outpouring of outrage, and we stand in solidarity with peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional right to object to the senseless and tragic treatment of Black Americans, and to the historic inequality and injustices that have plagued people of color for centuries.
Over the last two decades, New Markets has invested in mission-driven entrepreneurs working to improve economic mobility and educational outcomes specifically focused on people of color, first-generation Americans, low-income families, and other underserved populations. While we like to think we’re part of the solution – we know we’re also part of the problem. We often cite the statistic that 35% of our companies are led by women and people of color, but when we look more closely, only 7% are people of color. We have to be more honest about where we’re falling short, we have to do better.
Going forward, we are committed to using our position of privilege to take the following concrete steps:
Focus our “Future of Work and Learning Fund” more intentionally on improving economic mobility for the most disenfranchised;
We will increase the number of diverse management teams in our portfolio;
We will hire and build a more diverse team here at New Markets; and
We will actively measure and report our progress against these impact objectives annually.
We hope that this moment – and the sustained effort that must follow – will lead us to a better place. We are committed to listening and learning, to actively fighting against institutionalized racism, and to working towards a more equitable future.
Yours in service and solidarity,
Mark, Robb, Jason, Juan, Don, Jessica, and Barbara