On point

Out with the shareholders, in with society You'd be forgiven for thinking a global pandemic that's decimated the economy would prompt companies to prioritize the bottom line. And make no mistake, some have done just that. But others are using the moment to accelerate progress with their social and environmental impact goals, rather than just preserving profits. On the latest episode of Fortune's Leadership Next podcast, Alan Murray spoke with Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Fortune Global 500 food giant Damone. The company is on the path to become a certified B Corporation (the "B" stands for beneficial), a credential that Faber says will give Damone a competitive advantage both socially and financially. Anthea Kelsick, co-CEO of B Lab U.S. and Canada—the nonprofit that awards the B Corp certification—told me she agrees, especially as businesses reckon with not only the coronavirus, but systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd. “There is no better tool than B Corp certification to measure and also manage how to deliver that value,” Kelsick said. “Being armed with the right tools to put that thinking into practice is so incredibly important right now.”
Fortune

#BoycottGoya trends as company CEO offends todo el mundo Goya products are a staple in Hispanic cuisine and often, but not only, found in the pantries of many Latinx homes. That hegemony is in peril thanks to comments made by Robert Unanue, the CEO and grandson of the company’s founder, at a Rose Garden event yesterday. “We are all truly blessed, at the same time, to have a leader like President Trump who is a builder,” he said standing near Trump. Almost immediately, #BoycottGoya, #GoyaFoods, and delightfully, #Goyaway, began trending on Twitter. Se cancelan.
Fortune

The Beige Book is, well, too beige It may seem obscure, but the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, an analysis of the local economies generated by the 12 regional Fed banks, is a real page-turner for economists. And that's a problem. “It’s written from the perspective of people selling products, not the people buying the products, consumers,” Andrew Levin, a former Fed economist tells Marketplace. “It doesn’t really reflect people of color — it’s just missing a lot of the reality of what’s happening to real people in the real world in ordinary communities.”
Marketplace

Want more diverse corporate boards? White directors, investors, and executives need more Black friends. This is the smart takeaway from Seth Levine, the managing director of the Boulder, CO-based tech investment firm, the Foundry Group. The feedback loop is embarrassingly small for talent at that level. “Companies typically look for new board directors on their own (meaning they typically don’t engage a search firm) and the result is that most new board members are either directly connected to their existing board or management team or one degree away,” he says. Folks who consider themselves dialed-in, typically are not. As he looks to diversify his own network, he notes that he sits on 14 (!!) boards and stays an average of five years, but longer on several. The solution may lie in both a conscious effort to diversify personal networks, and then, get out of the way.
VC Adventure

What’s an American passport worth? This terrifying piece lays out life in the now plague-ridden U.S. and the consequences for international travel. Even if you factor in countries, like Ireland, who still require U.S. citizens to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, easy, visa-free travel is a thing of the past. “Americans have gone from having access to most of the world to being banned from most of it,” says Sri Lankan-based writer Indi Samarajiva. It’s not personal, though. “The point of a passport is that a sovereign power vouches for its bearer, but America can’t vouch for the health of their citizens at all,” he writes. “Americans have poor hygiene (low masking rate) and at least 40% of the population can’t be trusted to even believe that COVID-19 exists, let alone to take it seriously. They’re likely to refuse testing, not report symptoms, break quarantine, and generally follow rules.” Ouch.
Medium

On background

A little poetry for your soul Dr. Matthew E. Henry has logged nearly two decades of teaching philosophy and literature at predominantly white institutions. His debut collection of poetry, Teaching While Black, is deeply autobiographical and speaks eloquently to this moment in time. “There are poems that are 100 percent accurate to things that have happened in the (school) building,” he tells the Lesley University blog. He’s been called the n-word, been forced to explain why all lives don’t evidently matter, and has been encouraging candid conversations about race in his classroom. “Seeing this utter breakdown of civility, I can only watch so many videos of someone dying and not say something,” he says. “[My poetry], it’s definitely more Malcolm than Martin right now.”
Lesley University

We need to talk about white liberals This is the opinion of Betsy Hodges, former mayor of Minneapolis, who points out that while erstwhile liberal Democrats have run large and medium-sized cities for decades, vital socioeconomic outcomes continue to vary widely between Black and white populations. “White liberals, despite believing we are saying and doing the right things, have resisted the systemic changes our cities have needed for decades, says Hodges, the white Democratic mayo of Minneapolis from 2014 to 2018. “We have mostly settled for illusions of change, like testing pilot programs and funding volunteer opportunities.” It feels good to be on the right side of things on paper, “but fundamentally change little for the communities of color whose disadvantages often come from the hoarding of advantage by mostly white neighborhoods.” Then, she takes on the police.
New York Times

A documentary charts the portrayal of “American Indians” in Hollywood Reel Injun is a surprising 2009 documentary directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, that explores Hollywood’s portrayal of the Indian over the century long history of film. There are many jaw-dropping surprises; some of the earliest films ever made were made by Indigenous people celebrating their own culture. Then along came John Wayne. Though a meaningful Indigenous filmmaker movement is established and growing, they continue to struggle to counteract the deep cultural damage that John Wayne and bigoted Hollywood image-making has wrought. If you’re new to the debate on racist mascots, this is a great place to get you started. Streaming all over, or head over to PBS for clips, below.
PBS

raceAhead is edited by Aric Jenkins.

Today's mood board

Tropical Storm Fay hit the east coast today, and it's a doozy. Stay dry out there, folks.