These past few months have been a time of crisis for our New York community and our country. The senseless killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, along with too many Black Americans before them, have only highlighted racist attitudes and institutional racism that have plagued us as a country for far too long. As a melting-pot community of founders that has always valued inclusiveness and diversity, we condemn racism and injustice in all their forms. Such beliefs go against the core values of ERA and have no place in our community. We have always sought to create a platform and community where all founders have access to the resources and support they need to build their dreams. We reaffirm that commitment and vow to make sure it applies to founders of all backgrounds, especially those who have been historically underrepresented in venture capital funding. We believe entrepreneurship has never been more important as a way to expand economic mobility and opportunity and will do our part to make sure these opportunities are available to all. For us, this will include expanding outreach to these underrepresented communities and to organizations committed to similar goals as a first step. We are also making donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Education Fund, Digital Undivided, and The Hidden Genius Project to support their respective efforts in furthering equality, justice, and economic opportunity.
