In honor of Dr. King’s legacy of non-violence, equality and inclusion, the Black Employees at eBay (BEE) organized a gathering of 16 Bay-area companies and 250 tech peers, family and friends to join together and march in the MLK Day Parade with the theme “Justice in the Beloved Community.” United as one, this was the first-of-its-kind convening and collaboration between Silicon Valley tech companies.
The morning began with a networking breakfast at Lucky Strike and an introduction by the host team, the Black Employees at eBay (BEE). Guests were also welcomed by eBay and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise’s Chief Diversity Officers, Damien Hooper-Campbell and Brian Tippens who initiated a moment of silence in honor of those who have lost their lives in the fight for justice and equality. In order to extend the positive energy, the breakfast ended with a presentation from leaders at the Kapor Center for Social Impact who invited all guests to become a member of the first Bay Area-wide community resource group.
Decked out in matching black MLK Day shirts, employees from eBay, Twitter, Yahoo!, Electronic Arts, Uber, Yelp and others walked side by side in the march, which included a symbolic crossing of the Lefty O’Doul Bridge outside San Francisco’s AT&T Park to honor the marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in support of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Marchers of the Tech Collective were followed by the Bay Area Youth Arts Young Drummers, who carried a soulful beat through the crowd. Vibrant posts were shared on social media with #TECH4MLK and #webay to commemorate the event.
Throughout the march, members of the community shared signs to reflect unity and peace.
Guests of the event shared that this was a great opportunity to show the Bay Area how the tech industry supports communities and champions diversity and inclusion for all people. “Working in the technology industry we have a unique opportunity to affect change through strategic partnership with our peers," said eBay's Molly Titley. "The MLK march was a great example of how coming together we can have a greater impact than operating alone.”