Black Lives Matter | R+M’s Commitment to Antiracism

Our Declaration of Intent as Agents of Change

There comes a time when inaction is betrayal. Right now is one of those times. A time so critical to the future of humanity, it’s not enough to be non-racist – we must be antiracist.

As creative problem solvers we bear a responsibility to push progress forward — within ourselves, our clients and our community.

We’ve been listening and reflecting with intent and humility.

Raising a mirror to our privilege and realizing … not only can we do better, we must do better.

Black Lives Matter. There is nothing controversial about this statement.

Racism is a human rights crisis of global and systemic proportions, and we must support our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities with our voices, hearts, dollars and actions.

Today and every day moving forward, we will speak up, stand up and show up as active antiracists.

Fighting racism is not a checkbox for us, and there is no defined finish line. There are no shortcuts, and there will be missteps along the way. And when we fail, we will own it and try again.

This is a continuous conversation, commitment and investment to positive change that we’re determined to make as inherent as breathing.

If change matters, action matters.

Thus, we commit to the following first (of many) steps as we work against racism:

• We will define clear, specific and measurable goals for our continuous organizational and communications improvement.
• We will hold ourselves accountable to those goals through measures of transparency and reporting. You cannot improve what you do not measure.
• We will critically, and continuously, reexamine our policies, processes and procedures – as well as our existing business relationships – to ensure they align with our antiracist and inclusive values.
• We will embrace a zero-tolerance policy for zero-tolerance. This means racism, prejudice, inequality or injustice within our walls or relationships will not be accepted. Everybody belongs. Period.
• We will invest our time, talent and treasure in efforts that further diversify our recruiting, mentorship, training and promotion efforts. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice is not a part of company culture. It is company culture.
• We will lean into uncomfortable conversations with grace and grit. We will be humble when we misstep. Progress doesn’t happen inside of a comfort zone. Growth requires vulnerability.
• We will admit that change cannot happen by ourselves. No discussion is complete without the Black perspective. We will be including Black leaders and champions of diversity in our conversations. We will also continue to share and amplify resources from Black, Indigenous and People of Color –  especially those in our Triangle community.
• Above all, we will never stop doing the work.

We hope you will join us in this change movement.

The R+M Change Agents