The Alliance for Board Diversity has tracked Fortune 500 board composition since 2004. Between 2004 and 2010, white men actually increased their share of seats. Progress came slowly, then surged after George Floyd's murder, then stalled. Presence is not power. Those are different things.

There’s a particular discomfort in recognizing yourself inside a system being critiqued. Watching The Pitt made that unavoidable. Charting that creates harm, patients choosing between debt and care, executives showing up only to manage risk—I’ve lived inside these dynamics. Even with insurance, I delay care because a $4,000 deductible is real. This isn’t about villainizing administration. It’s about naming what gets lost when systems speak louder than people.