I began writing this a month ago as a reflection on how we must build more inclusive decision-making tables in order to co-create an equitable and thriving Silicon Valley post-COVID-19. Then the murders of innocent, unarmed African American people in the last couple of weeks once again ripped off the national Band-Aid, exposing a painful and constant undercurrent of bias and racism in these United States. The wound is hundreds of years old and we as a country continue to let it fester. Racism leads to exclusive tables and tilted scales. It’s all connected and a part of the American ecosystem many of us have benefited from and remain complicit in.

To my white colleagues and friends – we have work to do. This is on us. We must get educated and get to work.

Organizations claiming to be in leadership in Silicon Valley – including my own – must stand humbly in solidarity with impacted communities and examine our role in letting wounds fester. If this statement makes you feel uncomfortable, nervous and vulnerable, you’re going in the right direction. Keep going.

Big things can emerge when we develop deep relationships and new understandings with those outside of our sectors and lived experience bubbles.

For 30 years, American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley has demonstrated what can happen when we create a trusted space where diverse private sector executives, public policymakers, non-profit CEOs, labor and religious leaders build deep personal relationships, have real conversations about racism and inequities and think through collective civic solutions in an ALF Fellows experience. We know from experience that the big systemic issues of our Valley will persist unless we all have the courage to collectively address the root causes of our shared civic problems.

Still, according to a recent Silicon Valley Indicators report put out by Joint Venture, 30% of Silicon Valley households are living in poverty and below self-sufficiency standards. The 2019 Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey reported 9,703 people experiencing homelessness, a 31% increase over 2017 and the highest the number that has been seen in over a decade. A disproportionate number of people in poverty in Silicon Valley are people of color.

And this was before COVID-19. Now, staggering health and financial crises stemming from historic and current systemic barriers to resources are deeply impacting communities of color, immigrants and low-income neighborhoods. This newspaper reported that while Latinos comprise just 27% of Santa Clara County’s population, they account for about 40% of coronavirus cases.

As Silicon Valley communities begin to grapple with exposed racism and assemble task forces to rebuild the economy and get people back to work, consider this: Who are the unusual suspects that might add innovation and diverse perspectives to that dialogue? What sectors, under-the-radar innovators and those with proximity to the pain are not being invited to the conversation, let alone being asked to lead them? This moment of global disruption can be an opportunity to actually not return to normal, but to build something better.

My fellow white civic leaders, if we are not willing to have the uncomfortable conversations and humbly learn and act to bring equity to our valley, it’s time to step aside.

Suzanne St. John-Crane is the CEO of American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley and chairwoman of American Leadership Forum National.