Letter From the Editor

“I’m Virginia Grant. I’m the Executive Director of Gainesville Black Professionals, but it’s not just for Black people.” This was my introduction and tagline for most of 2016 and 2017. During the summer of 2017 I attended a women’s leadership conference and afterwards I went up to one of the guest speakers to introduce myself.

What’s ironic is that I didn’t feel a deep connection with this speaker. She didn’t say anything profound during her presentation and as I stood in line waiting my turn to meet her, I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say to her or why I had decided to introduce myself. Nonetheless I waited. When I reached the front of the line, I extended my hand and announced, “Hi, I’m Virginia Grant. I’m the Executive Director of Gainesville Black Professionals, but it’s not just for Black people.”

Her response immediately let me know why I had waited in line.

As our hands connected and my words settled in her spirit, she looked at me and said, “Well, stop apologizing for it.”

I knew exactly what she meant. I was constantly apologizing for founding an organization called Gainesville Black Professionals. I was apologizing for founding an organization that was creating a safe space for Black professionals to connect, network and recharge. I was apologizing for founding an organization that would create multiple platforms to showcase the successes and accomplishments of Black professionals and give voice to Black people that other forms of media will never elevate. I was apologizing for founding an organization that would create collaborations, partnerships and communications between organizations, governments and businesses. I was apologizing for founding an organization that needed no apology.

On that day, I stopped apologizing for founding Gainesville Black Professionals.

I have had countless similar experiences since then. Each of these experiences have taught me something about myself, my leadership and my purpose. I leave each of these experiences with a deeper understanding and greater awareness of the vision and mission of GBP.

The most impactful experience so far occurred in May 2020. On that day I sat at my dining room table and watched the video of George Floyd being lynched. I’m not sure how I came across the video on that day but I clearly remember what I felt after watching it. NOTHING. I felt absolutely nothing. I believe I went into a fog because I literally don’t remember anything else that happened that day. I know that I was at home because most of America was under stay at home orders at the time. But, I don’t remember if I finished working that day. I’m not sure if Eli did his virtual school assignments. I’m not sure what I had for dinner or if I had dinner. Embarrassingly, I admit that I don’t remember tucking Eli in bed, listening to him read his bedtime story or reciting his nightly prayers. I believe I checked out that day.

But I clearly remember when I checked back in. It was about 10:15 the next morning. I had just finished a Zoom meeting and at the end of the meeting, Yvette Carter made a statement about George Floyd. Fortunately, it was at the very end of the meeting, so I was able to press the leave button before my ocean of tears started running. I spent the next three hours in tears, in pain, in frustration, in confusion, in disappointment, in disbelief. I spent the rest of that day trying to understand, trying to make sense of things, trying to find a place to tuck this away so that I could move on. But there was no more room for tucking away the slayings, murders and lynchings of Black people in America.

There was no more room in my closet of forgiving, understanding and making sense of these incidents. The list of names had grown too long. The protests had become too many. The lack of justice and accountability was running over. My ability to rationalize was gone, my veil of denial had been removed. I was finally face to face, front and center with the trauma of racism of America.

In this issue of SYNERGY, my hope is to share this trauma with you through my story and through the stories of our neighbors. I hope that this public display of personal pain will help us as a community realize where we are and where we need to be. I hope that these stories will help us to commit to increasing communication, awareness and commitment. I hope that we will commit to creating collaborations, partnerships and coalitions that will lead to sustained change.

Ultimately, I hope that we will create a SYNERGY that leads to unity, diversity and equity for all.