A Bit More on Solidarity

My friends over at SorryWatch have a fine summary of what makes a good apology:

1. Use the words "I'm sorry."
2. Say what you are sorry for.
3. Acknowledge the effect of what you did.
4. Explain what you did, if need be.
5. Explain why it won't happen again.
6. State what you will do to make up for it.

I want to post a solidarity message, from Fireclay Tile, that gets beyond "we're in this together" far enough to acknowledge the specific problems with racism in their industry and their own complicity in the issues, complete with numbers about their workforce. They then go on to say "here are some specific things we are doing to try to make this better."

I think it's pretty good. I would not capitalize white as they do, though, and while I understand why they mention "a safer and truly equitable world for people of all colors," I would have kept the focus on Black Americans. Still, this is better than a lot of what I am seeing.

Our feelings mean nothing without action. 
There is no part of society that is not affected by anti-blackness and racism. In the design industry alone, only 2% of licensed architects in the U.S. are Black. In 2017, Interior Design degrees were awarded to a mere 6.3% of Black Americans (while 59.6% were awarded to White Americans). These disparities are a reflection of the lack of resources, mobility, and ultimately systemic oppression that affect Black Americans everywhere.

We will be the first to admit that change must start within our own company. While our team of 143 is largely BIPOC, only 2% are Black and 80% of our leadership is White.

We do not accept this. 
There is no going back to a “new normal”. It is up to us to reimagine a safer and truly equitable world for people of all colors. As Design Consultant Tiffanie White put it, “If we’re really Made in America, our organization must reflect the many faces of America, too.”

We’re getting to work. 
This week, we donated to Campaign Zero, a leading organization that aims to end police violence in America, and The Bail Project, which actively prevents incarceration and combats racial and economic disparities in the bail system.

We are also matching employee donations. We’ll continue to allocate funds to organizations that actively pursue justice for Black Americans and share them with our community.

In addition, we created a Diversity & Inclusion Committee and convened to organize a plan of action. Some of our action items included: 

• Implement training at every level of the organization to learn more about and dismantle the systemic racism in America
• Broaden our Fireclay Tile partnerships to include more Black Designers and amplify Black voices
• Evaluate hiring methods and revisit our employee handbook to make diversity an explicit priority
• Seek out diversity consultants to build an organization that is representative of our country and core values
• Research opportunities for tile contributions to help rebuild Black communities across the country 

This is just the beginning. We are actively working to back-up our actions with research and serious self-reflection. We will continue to keep you posted on our progress so that you can keep us accountable—we cannot do this alone.

While our road to equality will be long and imperfect, that’s how we know it is a journey worth pursuing. We hope you will join us.