Black People Politics : Does It Matter When A White CEO Says 'Black Lives Matter'?

[Liberty]

Randall Stephenson is the chairman, CEO and president of AT&T. Why is he talking about Black Lives Matter? Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images

Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, has been making headlines of late with his proposed $85 billion merger with Time Warner. But just before those plans were announced last month, Stephenson raised eyebrows for another reason. In a room full of AT&T employee support groups, Stephenson gave an impassioned speech on race relations.

"Our communities are being destroyed by racial tension, and we're too polite to talk about it," he said. "I'm not asking you to be tolerant of each other. Tolerance is for cowards. Being tolerant requires nothing from you but to be quiet and to not make waves, holding tightly to your views and judgments, without being challenged. Do not tolerate each other. Work hard, move into uncomfortable territory, and understand each other."

He went on to explain some of the logic that informed his views:

Read more
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswi...tter-when-a-white-ceo-says-black-lives-matter

 

[Liberty]

I think it DOES matter. Most of the times it seems that when we talk of race relations, we (AAs) are preaching to the choir. Then there are whites who might patronize us, but don't take the message back to their community and put action behind our message. We need to see more of this. JMO