[Editor’s Note: This post was adapted from a message that GeekWire co-founder John Cook sent internally to the GeekWire team this week. Also see this recent message to GeekWire newsletter subscribers.]
I loved history as a kid and young adult, especially the messiness, complexity and rawness of the Civil War era. The personalities, the issues, the battle tactics became a major fascination of mine and led to a curiosity that drove my history major at Gettysburg College, and I’d argue my ultimate career choice. (After all, journalists are charged with telling the first draft of history).
Growing up in the 1980s in central Ohio felt a bit boring. And I’d often remark to my parents about how I wished I’d lived in more dynamic historical times, echoing the history books I was consuming.
For the rest of her life, when something momentous happened, my mom would say, “Well, John, you always said you wanted to live in interesting historical times.”
And now here we are in 2020 — not even halfway through the year — and we are carrying such an enormous historical weight. It’s a year that combines the protests of the civil rights era (culminating in 1968); the economic pressures of the Great Depression (1929-1930s); and the Spanish Flu pandemic (1918-1919). And 2020 is certainly going to be one of the most bizarre election years in modern history.
In some ways, it’s almost too much to fathom, and I’ve seen historians struggle to put all of this in context. There really is no historical parallel. And the weight is real.
It’s stressful. It’s exhausting. It’s emotional. And I say this knowing there is still so much to do.
This was illustrated during GeekWire’s podcast recording about racial inequality in tech, business and society. Several of our podcast panelists noted that difficult and challenging conversations about race start with learning and listening.
In that spirit, we’d encourage you to take some time to better understand the torturous history on which our nation is built. Here are a few recommendations:
- The 1619 Project (Absolutely amazing piece of journalism conducted by the New York Times last year. A series of pieces which impacted me deeply, and changed how I thought about race).
- 13th (Netflix documentary).
- So You Want To Talk About Race (Book recommended on the podcast, and check out other titles on The New York Times best seller list here).
- White Lies (A harrowing NPR podcast about the murder of Rev. James Reeb in Selma, Alabama in 1965)
Of course, this only scratches the surface of what’s available. We’ve posted a guest article from podcast panelist and Seattle entrepreneur Dave Cotter on GeekWire with more insights and resources. Here’s a Google Doc titled Justice in June with some suggestions of reading and listening materials that Dave suggested.
I’d very much encourage you to share what you’ve read, watched or learned. I am looking forward to additional recommendations, and hearing what you’ve learned.
Unfortunately, there is still a long journey ahead. Education is really a first step toward the change we need. And, I must admit, I was wrongly operating under the assumption that more progress had been made.
Even so, listening to the GeekWire podcast recording and the George Floyd memorial service in Houston offers hope that we can move forward as a society, unified to root out racism and eliminate the evils on which our country was built.
As a media organization covering technology and business, we have a key role to play in this journey by asking questions, probing, investigating and using our curiosity to do impactful journalism.
We’ve done some meaningful work in these areas — Lisa Stiffler’s tireless efforts to highlight amazing women and people of color in Working Geek and Impact Series; Monica Nickelsburg’s ongoing work in civic journalism; the GeekWire Summit Immigrant’s Journey series; and support of organizations such as the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship via our Geeks Give Back philanthropic efforts.
There are more examples, but let’s build on these efforts. There’s more work to do.
