This document discusses the need to take sides against injustice and oppression. It argues that neutrality helps the oppressor, not the victim, and that silence encourages the tormentor. It acknowledges instances of police brutality against Black people that were not properly addressed by the justice system. It advocates for actively dismantling racist systems rather than just creating safe spaces, and calls on people to lift up and support Black excellence in tech. The overall message is that doing nothing in the face of injustice is not acceptable, and we must work to improve society and organizations.

1. Always Take Sides
Andrew Clay Shafer
@littleidea

2. This may not be what
you want to hear today
But these are the only
words I can say

3. I will make mistakes
I will say the wrong thing
But I cannot say nothing

4. I continue to educate myself

5. Black Lives Matter

6. If you do not care to listen to me
I understand
If you do not care
I do not understand

7. I swore never to be silent
whenever human beings endure
suffering and humiliation

8. We must always take sides.
Neutrality helps the oppressor
never the victim…
Silence encourages the tormentor
never the tormented…
— Elie Wiesel

9. –Desmond Tutu
If you are neutral in
situations of injustice,
you have chosen the
side of the oppressor…

10. To those people who want to
keep politics out of tech

11. That has never been possible

12. ‘keep politics out of this’
always means
‘do not try to change this’

13. Why do the people who say
‘keep politics out of this’…
immediately invoke
politics for their issues?

14. everything we do is politics

15. ‘police’ is definitionally political

17. the regulation and control of a
‘community’

18. I am privileged

19. I benefit from
systemic oppression

20. I benefit from
white supremacy
implicit and explicit benefits

21. If I was not so privileged,
I would probably be in jail
or dead

22. George Floyd was executed
by violence
sanctioned by a prejudiced system

23. Photo by Xena Goldman

24. I am not OK
This is not OK

26. I can’t breathe

27. “I can’t breathe” 11 times

28. grand jury decided not to indict

29. This is not OK

30. shot at point blank
range seconds
after informing an
officer he had a
licensed firearm
the officer
was acquitted

31. This is not OK

32. “injuries resembling
those suffered in a
diving accident, were
caused by abrupt
force to his neck”

33. lapsed into a coma
with three fractured
vertebrae, injuries to
his voice box, and
his spine 80%
severed at his neck

34. All charges:
‘dropped or acquitted’

35. This is not OK

36. found hanged in
a jail cell, three
days after being
arrested during
a pretextual
traffic stop

37. Dismissed perjury
charge in return for
“never seek, accept or
engage in employment
in any capacity with law
enforcement”

38. This is not OK

40. This 12 year old boy was
executed with extreme prejudice
By someone who ‘lacked the
emotional stability to be a
police officer’ 2 years earlier.

42. grand jury had
decided not to indict
"I’ve definitely never seen two
prosecutors play defense
attorney so well."

43. This is not OK

44. Anyone seeing a pattern?

45. These are not just bad apples
This is a bad system

46. https://www.vox.com/2016/8/2/12316922/police-legitimacy-cartoon

50. This is not OK

52. Who does more?
Who works harder?
not me

53. If that’s what the best of
us has to experience…
What is tech like for black people
who aren’t so accomplished?

54. We have to lift from the bottom.

55. https://twitter.com/JI_GPH/status/983103475436441603
Not only do we have
systemic police
brutality, we have for
profit prisons
‘school to
prison pipeline’

56. the strongest people are not
always those who show strength
we can see but those winning
battles we know nothing about

57. Safe space is not enough
We have to build safe systems
We must dismantle bad ones

58. I know I can do more

59. we must be actively anti-racist
we cannot renounce white privilege
we must dismantle white supremacy

60. The real opportunity is to
improve the system
for everyone
not performative activism

61. Next time you are
looking for a speaker…

62. #BlackExcellence
@bryanl @MinaMarkham
@maascamp @omojumiller @marcusjcarey
@Lanooba
@EricaJoy
@CTOAdvisor

63. #BlackExcellence
@kstewart @elchefe
@operaqueenie @techgirl1908 @tiffani
@polotek
@Abebab
@jboursiquot

64. #BlackExcellence
@NerdyAndNatural @stephenaugustus
@anjuan @ade_oshineye @Carnage4Life
@DarkAndNerdy
@mekkaokereke
@dashaun

65. Not because they are black,
but because they are awesome

66. No Shortage of
Wicked Problems
I didn’t forget

67. One problem is enough for today

68. –Simon Wiesenthal
Technology without hatred can be a blessing.
Technology with hatred is always a disaster…
The combination of hatred and technology is
the greatest danger threatening (hu)mankind.

69. We will make mistakes
We will do the wrong thing
But we cannot do nothing

70. –Desmond Tutu
If you are neutral in
situations of injustice, you
have chosen the side of
the oppressor…
Without forgiveness,
there's no future.

71. If we cannot improve ourselves,
our organizations and our society
what is the point?

72. I continue to educate myself

74. we cannot do nothing

75. Resources
• https://www.blacktechforblacklives.com/
• https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/
• https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/