Tackling implicit bias is a critical step for any institution working to combat racism. To root out bias, Starbucks must be explicit about race. They must also explore and address how racism plays out across the company--from the customer experience to who gets promoted to the demographics of their executive leadership.

This weekend in Charlottesville we witnessed an act of domestic terrorism by white nationalists. Since May, this resurgence of white nationalist violence has resulted in murders from Oregon to Virginia, and is more threatening with each passing day. This cannot become the new normal.

Right now, immigrant families are facing a period of heightened persecution and crisis as President Trump has already begun to deliver on his campaign promises on mass deportation. What we are witnessing is a nationwide immigration crackdown that is tearing families apart. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials and local law enforcement are becoming increasingly emboldened to target and track down non-citizens at their homes, schools, places of worship, and courthouses.

"The executive orders signed this week mark the beginning of a sweeping, reckless assault — the likes of which we have never seen — on the values that unite us. Our country was founded on principles of freedom and inclusion, and we are stronger, safer, freer when we come together. However, each order finds a new way to divide us: singling out entire groups of people based on how they look or where they come from, turning away refugees, building useless and expensive walls.

It seems the worst outcome we could have imagined has become a reality: a stunning victory for racism, misogyny, homophobia, and vengeful authoritarianism. Like many of you, we watched the election results with a mixture of anger, grief, and anxiety about the future of racial justice and the safety of our communities. In the coming days, there will be much analysis and speculation about what led to this outcome.

We are hurting here at Race Forward, as we grieve for the victims of the massacre at Orlando LGBT Pulse nightclub on Latinx-themed night. As we learn more about those victims—their names and stories—we send so much love to their families and communities.

There is a universal truth and that truth is: we all desire to be safe.  And no place is that desire more deeply held than in a place of reverence, a place of worship. That is why Race Forward joins the Charleston community and the nation in condemning the horrific murder of 9 churchgoers at Emanuel A.M.E. Church on Wednesday night. We offer our deepest condolences to all impacted directly and indirectly.

The conversation on race in our country is changing. Once a subject left to be discussed by civil rights leaders, organizers and a few non-profits, race is now a topic for many. Names like Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and so many more have led to widespread conversations on race. The numerous anniversaries marking milestones of the Civil Rights Movement and, yes, that the President IS Black also factor in to discussions about the role race and racism play in our society.

Race Forward extends its condolences to the families and friends of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, three Arab-Muslim students who were killed this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We hold Arab and Muslim communities in our thoughts, knowing well the terror that can arise in the wake of such horrific events.