Four more years? In Community #39

Four years.

So much can happen in four years.

As we approach what appears to be a virtual photo finish to an election season where we’re constantly hearing about successes and failures of the last four years – or promises for the next – it’s worth taking a moment to reflect.

It’s been four years since Hue, the impact platform I founded, went live publicly. 

Have we been successful? 

If you ask our corporate partners who continue to renew and expand their partnerships, they might say yes. I might agree – to an extent.

We’ve only scratched the surface.

Around us, we’re seeing continued struggles by BIPOC to have our voices heard and to receive the recognition we deserve. We’re feeling fatigue from a bombardment of rhetoric that aims to batter our spirits and weaken our resolve.

We see and feel this at our companies as layoffs and reorgs continue, across our institutions of higher learning as learning itself is being challenged, and across our communities as we navigate relationships to determine which ones will help us move forward rather than hold us back.

Collectively, we are at an inflection point.

There is no better time than now to ask yourself – and your leaders, along with your teams – what really matters. What are you willing to push forward that will benefit all of us, not just the few? How will you support the people, organizations, and communities that you’ve committed to and have yet to fully deliver for?

Ask yourself: What’s at risk today? What do you want out of the next four years?

Take this as an opportunity to recommit and to double down on actions, not just words. And this week’s Need to Know should help provide some motivation to kick start you off, as we lead into it with another milestone that only comes every four years – the Olympics, where we’re reminded what we can achieve when we’re at our best and have the support we need.

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Need To Know

💥 Hezly Rivera became the youngest member of Team USA at the Olympics. She scored gold and even beat the GOAT Simone Biles.

💥 Mickalene Thomas is showcasing the cultural necessity of Black women. She’s the artist behind iconic paintings of Michelle Obama, Solange Knowles, and Brittney Griner.

💥 Director Sean Wang’s film “Didi” is officially out. It captures parts of the Asian American immigrant experience we don’t often see. 

💥 Dr. Seema Yasmin’s new book explores a dystopian world where women don’t have access to abortion. “Unbecoming” mirrors what’s happening around us.

Who are the authors, social impact leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, and more who should get featured for how they’re moving us forward together?

Are you one of them? Reach out with your ideas by replying to this directly. I mean it – who deserves to get the spotlight on them? Let me know.

In community,

Fahad