Today, I participated in the Juneteeneth 4.0 Celebration that was hosted by OHUB, ThePlug, and Living Cities and led by Rodney Sampson. In addition to being part of a panel, I made several commitments as part of the #RacialEquityEcosystemPledge. Hereâs the fact sheet released by OHUB today.
The entire event is below. Thereâs a lot of awesome stuff in it.
In addition to the awesomeness, I made a mistake. Right after I spoke, I got a text from a White friend who is an entrepreneur Iâve invested in who watched the event live.
Apparently in my closing comments I said that you were âarticulateâ (I wasnât aware that I used the word.) While I hadnât seen this NY Times article I know that âarticulateâ is viewed as a microaggression.
So, regardless of whether it was intended, or you heard it, or anything else, I want to simply apologize.
You are incredible. You inspire me.Â
Rodney quickly responded:
Thanks for this. Tell your friend they are right. Apology accepted. However, in this case, I know that you meant âvocal in my leadershipâ. Â
Weâve got a lot of work to do. Iâm up for it.
When I make a mistake, I try to own it, apologize, and learn from it. Iâm far from perfect here, but Rodneyâs response, by acknowledging my mistaking, quickly accepting my apology, and getting back to work with me motivates me even more to work with him!