BIT stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and those who mourn George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others. We condemn white supremacy and the structural inequalities that subject Black people and other underserved communities to violence, and deprive them of resources and liberties. We stand against the local and system-wide barriers that cut off economic opportunity or deter access to vital services, and the terrible costs those barriers bring.
We also recognize that words like these are not enough. BIT was built on the belief that behavior change is central to social change; we know that work is required to translate intentions into actions. We will be actively expanding our work in anti-racism and seeking opportunities to offer pro-bono support to Black-led social justice organizations. Across all aspects of our organization, we will identify specific actions we can take to combat racism. These will include (but will not be limited to) continued efforts to diversify our team and leadership; reviews of our research process to help us better understand differential impacts on minority and underserved communities; and development of a strategy to ensure this work comes together coherently. We will judge our individual and organizational performance against those commitments. We will also be using our platforms to highlight research, resources, and voices fighting against racial inequity.
We don’t know everything that needs to be done, but we know that these ideas aren’t enough – they are just the first wave of practical actions we can take right now. We will be open about our progress and put in the work to learn how to do better if we fall short; where there are opportunities for our findings to help others advance, we will share them widely. We welcome suggestions on our goals and approaches as we seek to live up to our values of antiracism and social justice.
