>
“It might take a little more research, but black people have been doing extra work for years. The least you can do is take one extra step.”
During the first week of protests in support of Black Lives Matter, Pregame founder Ciara Pressler brought her perspective as a black founder and business strategist to her segment Work/Life on Digital Trends.
Here are specific things you can do to combat both overt and subtle racism and to promote inclusion at work:
Tokenism is Not Diversity.
Having one person of color on your team and expecting them to represent an entire population isn’t diversity, it’s tokenism. One is not enough. Make sure you are creating a diverse team at all levels of your business to influence decisions and direction.
Diversify Your Creative Inspiration and Creative Work.
Are all your creative influences white? The art you support? The authors you read? The mentors you listen to? Be sure your icons and influences are giving you a diverse perspective. Additionally, in your creative work, take care to go beyond the white default whenever possible, from photos to names to details.
Don’t Ask POC to Be Your Educators.
There are plenty of wonderful resources out there to educate you. We definitely encourage hiring DEI trainers and consultants, but asking people of color to volunteer to educate you or make your product look more diverse is unfair and lazy.
Don’t Gaslight People.
When people of color do share their experience, believe them. America is just now coming to a new awareness of how black people experience everyday encounters, and it’s vital that we become aware of what might be a racist encounter at work as well.
Be an Activist With Your Money.
We live in the United States, which is a capitalist system. People pay attention when we start – or stop – spending money. Go find a list of black-owned businesses and start shopping.
[Yes, Pregame is a black-owned business.]
Commit to a Process of Becoming More Aware.
One blog post, one video, one week of protests – none of those brief encounters with awareness can solve racism. Understanding and dismantling privilege is a lifelong learning opportunity.
Always remember: you can’t be woke without committing to the process of waking up every single day.
