Hello,

On May 25th, the words “I can’t breathe” from George Floyd left the world breathless and left each of us wrestling with our own truths about who we are, our families, our communities, and our society. Those three words rippled outward changing the world forever.

It left our Enwoven team struggling to find human ways through remote work to have the conversations necessary and to recognize how we were all feeling. As a small start-up, we asked, “What can we do to support the fight against racism, inequity, and injustice?”

To start, as a company, we firmly believe the right to life and liberty, is a basic human truth, and we stand in solidarity with our BIPOC brothers and sisters.

All lives can only matter when black lives matter.

At the core of Enwoven’s mission is to help groups collaboratively tell shared stories and drive deeper reflection about larger narratives. While this is not about me, I’ve begun to understand that change starts with inward reflection - so I’m sharing that reflection with you, my community.

Who am I?

I AM a Southeast Asian and White American
I HAVE BEEN AFFORDED the privileges of being a straight, half white male, with a European last name at the expense of others, particularly Black Americans
I HAVE GROWN UP in the progressive and liberal “bubble” of Berkeley/Oakland then educated in similarly progressive “bubbles” of Cambridge and New York.
I AM a son, a brother, a father, a husband, a founder, a writer, a technologist
...and I WON’T be silent

What can I do?

USE MY VOICE - online, at protests, in the voter’s booth and through conversations (even if uncomfortable) with family and friends
INCREASE SUPPORT - for organizations I work closely with that help youth BIPOC - Summer Search, Youth Speaks, Sprouts and start supporting more direct causes like the ACLU, Color of Change and BLM
READ & LISTEN - educate myself. It is not the burden of the black community to help me with this. See this list of media. A special shout out to childhood friends Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs (Tony award winner in Hamilton) for Blindspotting (94% Rotten Tomatoes)
SUPPORT BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES - For my Bay Area people, here’s a list of black-owned restaurants. I recently got a doll for Evie, my 18-month-old, at Ikuzi Dolls.

What can my company (Enwoven) do?

VET CUSTOMERS AND VENDORS - ensure our customers and vendors align with anti-racist values
See these articles from our inspiring customers: Reebok/Adidas, Airbnb, US Bank, and Gap.
INCREASE DIVERSITY AT WORK - stay committed to ensuring we have a diverse workplace when we are hiring freelancers, staff, and support
SUPPORT TEAM MEMBERS - create space for dialogue, discussion, expression, and match donations to non-profit organizations that our team supports

Enwoven is uniquely positioned to play a meaningful role. We built a product focused on capturing and sharing collective stories, driving reflection and insight, and humanizing information at organizations. Free of charge - we would love to collaborate with any organizations and customers, who want to ensure they have a place to document their initiatives, practices, histories, or narratives connected to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work. Please personally reach out to me (niles@enwoven.com).

Sending positive thoughts and optimistic hope for change,

Niles Xi’an Lichtenstein

CEO, Co-Founder