PrideBusiness by Sonja Whitemon
Ron Everett, SVP and Hub Leader at Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial Puts All its Might Behind Social Justice
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hroughout much of the history of Blacks in America, many people accepted as true that life inside Black America did not have to be different from that of White America — that the only difference was in the choices that were made. That view remained largely in place until May 25, 2020, when just 9 1/2 minutes changed everything. The death of George Floyd opened the eyes and hearts of Americans. Even Corporate America changed its stance on matters of social justice and equality. Many individuals and institutions alike are now willing to accept that there is a Black America they may not see or understand. Ron Everett is senior vice president and hub leader for Synchrony Financial’s Charlotte office and says the response to George Floyd’s murder was a long time coming, and the restrictions on normal activities due to the pandemic may have contributed to it becoming the tipping point that it was. “We heard Eric Garner, long before George Floyd, say that he couldn’t breathe,” Everett said. “There have been videos of these things before but there were other outlets to divert people’s attention. This
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time, we were in the middle of a shutdown due to the pandemic.” “We watched Eric Garner die, we watched John Crawford die [and] we watched Tamir Rice die,” Everett said. “There are a number of other situations that occurred where individuals were going about life and their lives were tragically ended — abruptly.” The difference, says Everett, is the country and the world had distractions that we didn’t have last summer. “Everything was focused on the pandemic and George Floyd.” A staunch supporter of justice and equality himself, Everett applauds his company’s response to the tragedies of last summer. In June of 2020, following the death of George Floyd, the company began a campaign of listening to employees to better understand what it can do to combat racism and systemic injustices. “Those sessions were very frank and raw,” said Everett. And as a result of what company leaders heard from their employees, Synchrony came out swinging with bold new initiatives to make real social change. Here are just a few:
