Crowdsourcing Racial Justice and Equality

Black Lives Matter. 

During this time, I find myself with a mix of emotions that makes it difficult to focus. Over the past week, we witnessed yet another senseless death at the hands of law enforcement. Rage, sorrow, and frustration have culminated in mass unrest across the country.  

However, too many times before, we have seen people rise up against brutality and ignorance and assert that Black lives matter, only to return to business as usual as if nothing had happened.

As we feel outraged and demand change, some members of our community are helping to lead the way: to mobilize us toward real justice and equality. At HackerOne, we’re on a mission to mobilize our collective intellect and creativity to make the internet a safer place. That’s why I truly appreciate how communities have come together to crowdsource information, perspectives, responses and actions.  Here are some that I have found especially impactful:

- President Barack Obama’s blog and this toolkit urges us to reject feeling cynical about the importance of voting and protesting. 

- Albrey Brown published a collection of important Racial Equity Resources providing hundreds of ways we can further this conversation and become better people.

- Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein compiled this document of Anti-Racism Resources.

- Rachel Cargle delivered a remarkable Public Address On Revolution: Revolution Now.

- Tayo Rockson compiled a list of Things to do to Support Black Lives & Protesters.  

- Brook Anderson’s photography — Stills of Our Stories & Struggles — sheds light on action across the country. 

- Companies and organizations are standing up for what is right. This article has some examples.

At this moment in history, I am happy to see people using their social media platforms to amplify these important issues. Even on LinkedIn, where people usually refrain from posting anything personal or political, I’ve seen people speaking with raw authenticity about their experiences and sharing suggestions on how we can all be anti-racist and take action.

HackerOne has seen an outpouring of support from our employees. Together, we’re asking:

1) “How can we support?”  

2) “How can we listen and truly take action?”  

3) “What more can we be doing?”

We’re committed to listening and opening ourselves up to learn how we can use our talents and resources for good.

Over the weekend, our CEO Marten Mickos sent an email to Hackeronies around the globe, sharing his anger and frustration and inviting us to take action. 

Speaking out in support for equal rights cannot merely be a trend. We must have difficult conversations and educate ourselves on how to drive change. 

As a starting point, we are guided by our values. HackerOne stands against racism, discrimination and supremacist behavior in any form; it is prohibited on our platform. We Start with Integrity by treating all humans with respect, and we Empower the Community by providing opportunities for all people to pursue their dreams and succeed in their goals. We Act Like Owners by aiming to understand that others’ challenges are our own, and we Default to Disclosure as our team and community refuse to stay silent in times of injustice. We stand in solidarity with communities of color, because the only way to Win is as a Team. 

At HackerOne, we also are bringing our people together through H1nclusion, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) group. Its mission is to champion inclusion and belonging at HackerOne. In our meetings, we’re brainstorming how HackerOne can take action against racism, inequality, and white supremacy today. We’re doing this through volunteer days, training programs, guest speakers, expanded ERG programs, Juneteenth programming, resource catalogues, and more. 

Equally important, we are ensuring that we have a strong structure in place to be open and to listen, focused on supporting our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture — not just now, but always. But we have much work to do. Like all of Silicon Valley, HackerOne needs to do serious work to promote diversity and support communities of color in their careers.

To help us get better, we’re going to do what we do best: crowdsourcing. I invite you to share your ideas and suggestions with me at rana@hackerone.com. I look forward to coming back to this post with the actions we are taking to mobilize in this moment and do our part to make a difference.