TechTown Statement on Violence Against the Black Community

June 9, 2020

TechTown condemns injustice in all its forms and actively condemns racism. We stand in support of George Floyd’s family and all those who have suffered due to systemic racism. And we stand in solidarity with the movement to protect the safety and well-being of Black residents.

TechTown’s mission is to expand diversity, equity and inclusion within pledge companies, yet we have not seen the substantial change we are working to create.

We know words are not enough.

True progress demands that we must take immediate action, make a long-term commitment, and redouble our efforts in support of a more just and equitable world, in addition to our continued commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion within our organizations. 

TAKING ACTION
We encourage our TechTown community to take the following actions.

1. Listen to and amplify Black voices. Even though we don’t have the answers, remaining silent in the public sphere signifies compliance and acceptance of the status quo, and that is simply unacceptable.
2. Engage in conversations with your teams, your colleagues, and your customers. Focus on creating space to genuinely listen to Black perspectives, learn about systemic racism and take action to make your workplaces more equitable and anti-racist.
3. Don’t dictate solutions. Recognize it is not appropriate to dictate solutions for entire communities of people, nor is it helpful to ask people from these communities to speak up or speak for on behalf of their entire community.
4. Utilize ally skills. In the past two years TechTown has trained more than 400 attendees in Allyshift Training, starting the process to equip them with the tools needed to be allies to oppressed and underrepresented groups. Now, more than ever, is the time to use and share those tools.
5. Support Black-owned businesses and Black-centered organizations.TechTown encourages everyone find local Black vendors and entrepreneurs. Here are some resources to visit:

• Mercatuspdx.com
• BlackPDX.com
• iloveblackfood.com

TechTown also encourages everyone to support the resilience of Black people in this community through: 

• NAACP Portland Chapter  
• Portland African American Leadership Forum 
• Self Enhancement Inc 
• The Black Resilience Fund 
• Urban League of Portland  
• Black Chamber of Commerce
• Black Food Sovereignty Coalition
• Coalition of Communities of Color
• and this @DontShootPDX curated list 

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About TechTown Portland

A movement. A commitment. A community.

TechTownPDX is a collection of Portland tech companies who have come together to commit to a Diversity Pledge – a shared commitment and action plan to collectively advance workplace diversity and inclusion in order to grow the industry while broadening prosperity.

Our mission is to expand diversity, equity, and inclusion within pledge companies. We do this by taking collective action with the local tech companies who have taken our Diversity & Inclusion Pledge that is focused around Partnerships, Hiring Strategies, Career Development, Training & Education and Measuring Progress.

About Prosper Portland

TechTown is powered by Prosper Portland. Prosper Portland creates economic growth and opportunity for Portland. Prosper Portland’s vision is to make Portland one of the most globally competitive, healthy, and equitable cities in the world by investing in job creation, encouraging broad economic prosperity, and fostering great places throughout the city. We aspire to be a workplace of choice with passionate staff excelling in an open and empowering environment and sharing a commitment to our collective success.