Black Lives Matter

We, like many white people, have been moved recently to acknowledge something which has never truthfully been a real part of our conscious. The Black Lives Matter movement has forced us to rethink our views on being racist and on seeing ourselves as not falling under that bracket.

Previously racism is something we viewed as purely active, where a person went out of their way to discriminate or abuse a person of colour. Now we know that being passive about racism, and not educating ourselves both on its history and acknowledging how racist views are still so deeply manifested in today’s society, speaks volumes of our white privilege and on-the-fence stance when it comes to real racist issues.

Although the phrase ‘I understand that I will never truly understand’ rings very true, we have pledged to educate ourselves, step off the fence and be active in our approach in the fight against racism. We have the power to implement change, both within our social circles and beyond.

With this in mind, at BrightWord we are striving to listen, learn and actively join the fight against racism. We are looking at our business practices and communications to ensure we start to represent more black voices and stories that up until now have often gone unheard. We will also be offering any black owned businesses a 10% discount on our PR and marketing services.

Here are just a few resources we’ve found to help us learn more:

Books:
Freedom is a Constant Struggle – Angela Davis
Why I Am No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge

Instagram:
@candicebrathwaite
@novareidofficial
@ava
@BLM_WestSussex
@blmchichester

Donate:
Show Racism the Red Card
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
Black Lives Matter UK

Photo credit @_samhaigh_