Bringing awareness to the social issues that impact our team.

Argentum is keenly aware of the racial tensions that have elevated in this country in 2020, sparked by Breonna Taylor and George Floyd's untimely deaths. As we are located just 20 miles from the nation's capital, our employees are closely connected both emotionally and physically to the protests that have taken place. Our focus in 2020 and beyond is to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and provide opportunities for education, awareness, and open discussion for our staff on these crucial issues. We firmly believe that change happens by open conversation, which led us to begin our new initiative called JEDI. JEDI stands for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. We recognized that many organizations are making diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts a top priority, but we also felt that social justice needs to be incorporated into these initiatives. Our goal with JEDI is to create an inclusive environment and encourage open discussions on the social issues important to our employees. Our emphasis in 2021 is on civil rights and racial discrimination, environmental discrimination, LGBTQ rights, and poverty and homelessness in America.

Outcomes: We just concluded our quarter one discussion on civil rights and racial discrimination. Our team had very candid conversations related to the documentary 13th that we all watched and on the murder of George Floyd. We openly shared our experiences and were also able to walk away understanding how each person's experience shaped who they are. Through these shared conversations, we have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the racial disparities in this country. As we embark on the JEDI program, we hope to continue to break down walls and learn more about one another.