Dear Kara

Dear Kara, 

Hi sweetheart, it's Papa. 

I want to talk to you about a serious movement that's happening in the world. Since you’re only two years old, you won’t understand what I'm about to tell you. My hope is that when you’re older and reading this, you and your generation can look back on 2020 as a critical turning point in history where we made a difference.

Mama and I are raising you to be a good human being with the core value of respecting others for who they are and not how they look. While this seems like something everyone would believe in, it's sadly not the truth. Not even in 2020. While you will have this core value, you will interact with others who will not. You are the product of a first-generation American Chinese and Indian couple, and you look beautifully different. Today, people will judge you based on your gender, who you love, and the color of your skin. 

In the last few weeks leading up to me writing this, Americans have witnessed more hatred and civil unrest than I can recall. As someone who was born and raised in this country, I'm not going to lie to you--I'm scared. We're seeing humans violently murdered for being Black...in 2020...in America. If I sound like a broken record, it's because I want that to sink in. It's 2020 and people are killing other people because of their skin color.

These events have shone a light on racism that has existed in this country for far too long. These issues aren't new, and I've had to endure my fair share of it.

Growing up in a conservative town, I was ridiculed at a young age by peers for the way I looked. Kids at school thought I was smelly, called me "Cousin It” because I was hairy, and spewed derogatory terms that no child should ever know. They made fun of the traditional Indian clothing my family wore when picking me up from school, and thought my parents owned 7-11's because that’s what Apu on “The Simpsons” did. I experienced all of this hatred before I was 15 because I looked different. 

Then September 11, 2001 happened. It became even more difficult for me to get on an airplane because of my brown skin and last name. When my co-founder (a white male) and I would travel together, he would always cruise through TSA, but I'd receive a "special screening" and sometimes a search. In 2017 I broke my foot, and while going through security at JFK, an officer made me remove my brace so he could inspect it for a weapon, and asked me to walk (of course, I could barely do this). What's sad is that he let a Caucasian male ahead of me with a brace go through without any hassle.

A few years ago, I found myself on a midwest highway after a taxi driver who picked me up from the airport left me stranded because he was convinced that I was "taking jobs away" from "his kind." 

What's "his kind?" Aren't we all humans? 

At a young age, I learned that the only way for me to survive was to create a split personality. I had to become two people: Kunal Anand, son of Indian immigrants living in America, and Kunal Anand, an American born citizen. This divide was the only way to integrate and be accepted. It’s something I’ve carried throughout most of my adulthood, and I know I’m not alone. Your Mama and other minorities have done this too. It’s not uncommon for People of Color to experience imposter syndrome when things go right or to feel extremely pressured to excel in their craft, a tactic used to pacify prejudice.  

Kara, I don't want you to do this. I want you to be proud of who you are. 

Your Mama and I are working hard to fix this, and we're not alone. In fact, millions of people all over the world are trying to make a difference. America is awakening to its systemic issues. For the first time in a long time, people are openly talking about racism. While we have ways to realize tangible change, these conversations make me hopeful.

One place I have the power to influence change is in the way we work and talk at Imperva. Today, our industry uses archaic terms and phrases like “Master/Slave” (referred to in distributed computing architectures) and "Whitelist/Blacklist" (referred to in security models), both of which implicitly signal the white supremacy we all want to see dismantled. Being an organization that uses these terms and phrases in 2020 is wrong and tone-deaf. I didn’t invent the idea of changing these terms, but I’m going to use my power to make sure Imperva starts.

Instead of using “Master/Slave,” why not “Primary/Secondary”? Instead of “Whitelist/Blacklist,” how about “Allow/Deny”? While we haven’t settled on what the new terms will be, we know we have to change. It’s something that will reflect in our products, documentation, collateral, and how we talk about our security models going forward. When we come up with the new terms, I’m going to share them and promote their use to the rest of our industry, and I encourage other companies to do the same

But words are not enough. Like every other company, we can and should be doing better when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It’s a journey that I want to be open about so others can hold us accountable. I will talk more about this in the coming months. We all have a part to play in this movement. When added up, our individual contributions can become an unstoppable force, which is what I hope happens.

Kara, I’m going to try and make things better so that when you grow up, the world will be more accepting of you and your skin. You are different, and that isn't just ok--it's beautiful. I can’t wait to give you a giant hug when I get home.

Love you,

Papa