This Is Just The Beginning
Okay bike industry.
Maybe you’ve gotten to the point where you’ve said a little something. Take some time to reflect on that experience.
How hard was that for you? Did you look at the other folks on your zoom call and notice y’all were lacking in voices who could authentically speak to what’s happening right now?
Did you have to go through different layers of management to find out where your company stood on matters of race? Did you hesitate because you were afraid you’d upset folks by being “political”?
Did you post an image of a black person on your feeds and have it met with a less than favorable reaction? Were people mad? Did they demand more? Did they demand better? Did you do better?
The bike industry is still in its infancy in regards to matters of Diversity. Y’all have been skating on the surface for so long, that you honestly didn’t realize how big of a problem it was.
Do the events from the past few days surprise you? Do they upset you? Why are you upset?
Do you get it now? Do you understand that all lives should matter, but all lives don’t actually matter? Do you understand that we’re trying to convince you to make black lives matter? To make them important enough to protect and preserve?
While you were fumbling over what to say on your instagram. Another unarmed black man was murdered. David McAtee in Louisville was shot by the National Guard. in front of his own restaurant.
We’ve not yet finished mourning for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade.
So what now? What’s next?
This is just the beginning, and the best thing you can do after you’ve taken a stand and taken some action is educate yourself. Learn all you can about anti-racism. DIVERSIFY YOUR TEAM. Until our anger is your anger, your activism/ advocacy is merely performative, but It doesn’t have to be.
Follow the lead of the folks who’ve been doing this work. Support them, hire them, amplify their voices, learn from them. DO NOT TOKENIZE THEM. DO NOT ASK THEM TO WORK FOR FREE. Even if they are already on your team, if you’re requesting further emotional labor that has nothing to do with their job description, compensate them accordingly. Or, better yet, hire a qualified person to do that job specifically.
Rest assured, I don’t owe you this explanation, I don’t owe you my time, my energy, my vulnerability, and my pain. I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for myself and the Black folks who could potentially benefit from you finally understanding why Black people are collectively done accepting the blatant disregard for Black lives.
Your tears are useless, your temporary concern does nothing, we need folks who are actively working to tear down the system of racism that props up nearly everything in our country. Jobs, education, law enforcement, housing, transportation, everything.
If you think i’m making it up, dig in and see for yourself. Again, white folks feel free to share resources that have helped you navigate this new and tumultuous terrain.