Let me start by saying I wish I never had to send this email.

I wish that the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others weren’t so violently cut short. I wish that institutional racism, and the police violence it gives rise to, didn’t cause their deaths. I wish that all members of our Black community felt safe enough to move around their cities without fear. I wish that I didn’t have to try to find the words to explain all of this to my two young sons.

But I’ve been given hope this week by hundreds of thousands of peaceful protestors demanding change. I am committed to being part of that change.

As a company, we believe that everyone has the right to move freely, no matter where they live or the color of their skin. We’re proud of how Uber has helped improve transportation equity over the last decade. But the reality remains that Black Americans often don’t feel safe to move freely in many places around our country. And they still face enormous barriers that others do not.

This is a reality we should not perpetuate or accept. We must do better.

We know there is no easy solution to the problems we have faced for centuries. We also know that we need to devote our time, energy and resources toward making a difference. That’s why we’re making a number of commitments that we will uphold not just this week, but for years to come:

• We are committed to driving lasting change through criminal justice reform. On Sunday, we announced a $1 million donation to the Equal Justice Initiative and Center for Policing Equity to support their important work in making racial justice in America more than just a promise.
• We are committed to creating a community that treats everyone equally and with dignity. We do not tolerate discrimination, harrassment or racism on our platform, as outlined in our Community Guidelines. We will hold everyone who uses Uber accountable to these standards of basic respect and human decency. I respectfully ask anyone not willing to abide by these rules to delete Uber.
• We are committed to supporting the Black community. As a starting point, we will use Uber Eats to promote Black-owned restaurants while making it easier for you to support them, with no delivery fees for the remainder of the year. And in the coming weeks, we will offer discounted rides to Black-owned small businesses, who have been hit hard by COVID-19, to help in their recovery.
• We are committed to making Uber a diverse and inclusive place for people of color to work and thrive. While we have more work to do, we have tied our senior executives’ pay to measurable progress on our diversity goals, and will continue to publish data on our workforce so the public can hold us accountable. We’re also committed to expanding opportunities for drivers and delivery people, including through education opportunities and skills training.

We know this isn’t enough. It won’t be enough until we see true racial justice. But we plan to work day in and day out to improve, learn, and grow as a company.

Lastly, let me speak clearly and unequivocally: Black Lives Matter.

Dara Khosrowshahi
CEO

Local School District

Dear Oceanside Unified Families and Staff,

The OUSD Board of Education stands in solidarity with all students, staff, and community members of color.

Like many of you, we are overcome with anger, sadness, and grief as we grapple with the injustices of inequality and racism in all of its forms. All public institutions, including school districts, are responsible for dismantling the barriers of systemic racism in order for our community and nation to heal these deep wounds. That is why our district’s non-discrimination statement clearly states that we will not permit any “discrimination, harassment, intimidation and bullying in educational programs, activities, or employment on the basis of actual or perceived ancestry, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, immigration status, religious beliefs or customs, sexual orientation, parental, pregnancy, family or marital status, military status or association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.”

We’ve all seen the images of protests and unrest both peaceful and not, across our country in the wake of the terrible killing of yet another Black American. There is very real pain and anguish in our nation that is being felt here in Oceanside as well as in the hearts of your district leaders, teachers, and staff who are dedicated to creating learning environments where all students are safe.

We know that education has the power to make an impact lasting generations. We are proud that with our direction, our district has upheld a commitment to diversity through our culturally proficient educator committee, board policies for Gender Identity & Access and Safe Haven designation, districtwide unconscious bias training, and most recently the approval of our Ethnic Studies course which will arm students with the knowledge and voice to create positive change in their community. But there is still work to be done. Please, partner with us as we work to ensure that all students and staff, including our students and colleagues of color, feel safe and supported by OUSD, where ALL MEANS ALL.

Our students will be seeking understanding and looking for answers during this difficult time. Now is the time for us to lead by example and face the challenge of change together. Our community is one of diversity, compassion, and resilience. No matter your background, your race, your identity, know that you are seen, you are heard, and you are loved. Please do not hesitate to reach out to a principal, counselor, teacher, district administrator, or your board of education if we can answer questions or provide assistance. Additionally you can visit SDCOE’s equity page for resources for your family or classroom.

My Running Shoe Store

Time to stick together. Looting our store doesn’t change where we stand I think the last thing many of you want to read or hear is another platitude regarding social justice and facing ingrained prejudice and racism in our country. In some weird way, the outpouring of support and words can seem placating and insincere when all coupled together in your inbox and FB page. However, it is my hope that you recognize that an important step towards adjudication and remediation is to hear from both citizens and businesses of all sizes, backgrounds, and experiences–and in particular–the experience of a business that took a shot to the chin during the protests.  As some of you may know, our Downtown store was broken into, looted, and damaged on three straight nights. Our experience is by no means isolated, but it has at times become a contentious subject on where concern and focus should be. It is my aim here to make it very clear where Foot Traffic stands: BLACK LIVES MATTER! No matter what happened to our downtown store and no matter how personal and damaging the looting and destruction is to our store and our community, NOTHING should distract us from what our focus should be on. We need reform. We need change. And we need it now. We can’t wait. Vote. Donate. Get involved. Speak out. Our store downtown was walloped by some gratuitous opportunist adrenaline junkies that, in my opinion, were NOT representative of what these protests are all about. In fact, they are distracting and antithetical to what 99% of people protesting are looking to do. Nobody should be OK with looting for that reason alone–not just because it sucks that our store was bashed in, but because it may be further entrenching a schism that exists in our country regarding the urgency of this matter. I personally spent three straight nights cleaning up and guarding our store and watching and learning about how things were transpiring. I was exhausted, scared and frustrated. But I know that those feelings of fear and anger don’t even hold a torch to what POC experience daily. Having something to lose and a platform for outreach makes me absurdly fortunate. I know that. And with that privilege, I want to leave you with this: We can be saddened by our own deeply personal obstacles facing our store, staff, and family…but we are OUTRAGED at what we have witnessed time and time again against people of color day after day. No more. #BLACKLIVESMATTER RUN ON surely means so much more than it did to start. Peace, love, and perseverance,