It has officially been one year since Blackout Tuesday. It's also the beginning of Pride month.
A lot of companies want to do *something*, but they don't know what to do... so they post on social media (I'm not talking about those who are purposefully capitalizing on this, which is much worse).
In some cases, they get push-back when it becomes clear that their actions don't necessarily back up their words, or when it appears they are only posting as part of a trend-- not year-round. Or they get push-back from customers, partners, or even employees, if this seems new or if they haven't explicitly stated their values in the past-- and learn that their values don't align.
Over the last few years, companies who once thought they could remain neutral so as not to upset their customers, learned that they can't. They learned that silence does, indeed, equal violence.
Companies have power.
They can choose to use that power for good or to continue to benefit from the privileges afforded to them by a racist, cisheterosexist, capitalist system.
In my experience, most folks in the industry WANT to do good, but due to this privilege, they haven't been forced to deal with these issues head-on. Most small companies have low capacity-- everyone is doing 10 jobs at once and they haven't prioritized this over other growth. And now they are learning on the job.
This leads to trepidation and fear of making mistakes.
I get it. As a white, educated, cisgender woman, I definitely do NOT have all the answers and I have made a METRIC TON of mistakes, myself.
It doesn't excuse it, but fear can't paralyze us either. Taking the time to talk to folks and educate yourself and your employees is a great start, though company, policy, industry, and systems change is needed as well.
With that, here is a quick audit for folks to check in with themselves and make sure their posts are backed by real actions, and not just platitudes.
Have you donated money or raffle items in support of Black and LGBTQ+-led causes?
Have you posted anything on this or related social justice issues, outside of Black History month or Pride?
What does representation look like on your social media and marketing? Do you feature Black and LGBTQ+ folks?
Go to your website: check your artist roster— do you actually support Black and LGBTQ+ artists?
Check your staff page— do you actually hire Black and LGBTQ+ people?
Do your company values show that you care about racial justice, gender justice, and LGBTQ+ issues?
Look at your job listings— do they include a salary, flex time, good benefits, professional development, and a statement about your commitment to anti-oppression (not just an EEOC policy)?
Does your workplace culture support Black and LGBTQ+ folks— if you hire them, how long do they stay? Do you train your staff on these issues?
I hope this tool can provide a quick assessment to help folks who want to move from platitudes to action. This is nowhere NEAR everything, but I hope it's at least a kick in the pants, if folks need it, to urge them to come up with real plans and begin enacting them!