Doing Better

“For only love can conquer hate, you know we’ve got to find a way.”
Marvin Gaye

The universe has shifted. These past few months, life has been different. We’ve gone from trying to survive a worldwide pandemic to finding our way through a historic social injustice breaking point. We don’t know what’s next. But like many others, we’re leaning in and making a conscious effort toward progress. It is clear that progress is what we need. It’s what we’ve always needed but we can’t move forward without recognizing our broken past.

For TRIO, the path of progress includes listening, learning, kindness and introspection. And as we practice these things, it ultimately must result in taking action. We understand that now more than ever, organizations need to be transparent about how they’re doing things and in that spirit we are sharing our first steps toward doing better.

1. We will share our job openings and internship opportunities with HBCUs across the Carolinas and Georgia in hopes of creating a more diverse culture at TRIO.
2. We will reach out to nonprofits that serve and empower Black communities and encourage them to apply for our annual CreateAthon so they may receive pro-bono marketing support.
3. We will network with minority-owned businesses to broaden our affiliations and explore partnerships, and freelance and subcontractor opportunities.
4. We will become a business partner with a local nonprofit focused on providing mentor relationships to students of color to empower them to succeed inside and outside the classroom.
5. We will support the International African American Museum as a charter member and recognize the history of where we live and how it impacts the lives of our fellow neighbors.

Ironically, next year will be the 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s iconic song, “What’s Going On.” He wrote that song in response to war, violence and police brutality. How far have we come as a society since his lyrics first played on the airwaves? In so many ways, it feels like we’ve barely moved the needle. We can do better. We must do better.

What we can promise from our team is that we will take these action steps from a place of authenticity and acknowledge that this is not an exhaustive plan but merely a starting point.