Felecia Hatcher: Tech community must do more than tweet support. It needs to invest.

To those in Miami’s tech and startup ecosystem:

If you only post a message of solidarity and not make plans for change in your company culture, your hiring practices, admission into your accelerators/programs and spaces, your VC and Angel investments and philanthropic giving — you are still complicit.

We have spent the last three months dealing with the devastating loss of life and income due to COVID. We also watched the killing of Ahmaud Arbery who was shot and killed while simply jogging. And now the untimely death of George Floyd at the hands of police brutality. These tragic deaths have all brought to the forefront what the black community has known all along. These are not events: for most of us, these are our lived experiences. Technology, entrepreneurship and innovation economy opportunities mean nothing if lives are cut short by the knee of our law enforcement systems, or the knee of everyday institutional racism.

Black people are mourning, exhausted, and indignant about the continuous assault on us for just being. We cannot simply educate and love our way out of this. A radical shift requires Accountability, Advocacy and most importantly ACTION.

For six years, my partners Derick Pearson and Starex Smith and I have worked to use technology, innovation and entrepreneurship to empower the black community and create opportunities and wealth pathways within the innovation economy and close the digital divide. Even with some success in moving the needle, those in positions of power and influence in Miami fail to respect and value the black community as assets. How do you continue when people outside of your race don’t even believe in the innovation potential of your community? Don’t believe, at minimum, that our lives matter.

We have to hold organizations and companies accountable. Some have posted messages about Black Lives mattering, but when you look at their records of investment, hiring and outreach, their past actions don’t match their sudden “wokeness.” Tracking what is and what is not being done is a first step. South Florida-based companies like TP Insights have actually been noting technology companies and their responses.

Unfortunately, Miami’s tech and startup community is silent That silence neglects how we foster Black talent and value our communities.

We need better policy on a local and state level that creates greater opportunities to investment funding and resources. We have a job to do in our upcoming elections, from council members to mayors to judges and district attorneys, by electing only those that have a track record and plan for advancing social justice and better economic opportunities.

Two weeks ago, we saw in Minneapolis where venture capitalist Tom Austin racially profiled three young black entrepreneurs who were using the gym in a building where they had an office. “They didn’t seem like they belonged there,” Austin said after calling police. Black entrepreneurs and tech professionals here have their own version of this sentiment: “I don’t feel like I belong.”

To Miami’s tech community we have this to say: Your spaces are not inviting, your portfolios lack diverse investments and your events lack real outreach to speakers and audiences of color. Your public statements and Twitter fingers need to turn into action. The future of our innovation potential depends on it.

This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 6:00 AM.