CEO Letter
Dear WPO Colleagues,
We are living through incredibly difficult and frightening times. The tragic and senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the horrific murder of George Floyd, weigh heavily on our hearts and lay bare some ugly and shameful truths about our country that can no longer be hidden or ignored. For too many people of color, Minneapolis is not an aberration, it is a daily reality. As a nation, we must acknowledge that racism exists in America and that it is a far more pervasive and lethal threat than COVID-19.
Beyond acknowledgement, we must commit to meaningful change. The time for debate and arguing semantics is long past – Black Lives Matter. The personal disgust and outrage we feel at this moment must have a shelf life longer than the next news story. We cannot allow the cynical actions and divisive language that comes from the highest levels of our leadership to alter our focus or dilute our determination to build and live in a just and equal America. And by ‘we’, I mean you … me … each one of us. We know now that change will not come from the top. Like with COVID, the power to flatten the curve of racism comes from the collective actions of each one of us – in the voting booth, on the streets, in our conversations, in how we treat each other and how we demand others to treat us.
Our value statement, gleaned from the motto of our home state, is unequivocal – to be, rather than to seem. Simply put, we ask each person at WPO to live their authentic life and pledge to honor and protect that experience.
We also understand that a commitment to an inclusive workplace requires a commitment to an inclusive community. WPO must be a loud voice and a visible presence in demanding change and safeguarding the lives of our employees and families outside of the office. That means leading by example, calling out injustice publicly, and investing our time and financial support in the individuals and organizations driving reform.
Despite a call to action, I know how hard it is to navigate the pain and despair we are all feeling now. I want to make sure that you each have access to the support you need to process your own feelings, as well as those of our members. To begin, I would like to encourage you to reach out to your team leads, managers, and directors to talk, to share concerns, or to just vent. In addition, we will be offering facilitated virtual discussion forums for all employees to create a group space to share your thoughts and draw strength from each other. Finally, our clinical leadership team is working on a guidance to help in our conversations with members impacted by these events.
Tomorrow, June 4th, I would also like to invite you to join us in recognizing a National Day of Mourning. Organized by the leaders of our nation’s leading civil rights and racial justice organizations, this day is an opportunity to reflect and to envision a path to tolerance and reconciliation. Details of our observance will be shared on Yammer.
I would like to close this message by sharing the last few sentences of Dr. King’s remarkable, Letter from the Birmingham Jail. His words, written while confined in the Birmingham City Jail, have been a source of solace and inspiration many times in my life, including this past week. Penned in 1963, the message still sadly resonates in 2020. “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”
Sincerely,
Alan
