If you are on the Blooming Business email list, you will have already seen this message. However, I’d like to add a few things to what we shared in this email, specifically to honor some of the feedback we received from Black women in our community. It is not their job to educate or correct us, but I am thankful they did because their input matters.
Right now, my goal (and the goal of my team) is to listen, learn, and adapt so that this community can be better than ever. I hope sharing this evolving message is helpful to you.
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Like most of you, I am watching the protests and riots unfold throughout the U.S. in the name of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless others who have lost their lives simply because of the color of their skin.
It’s 2020, and yet we as a country have yet to really understand the full extent of the racism in our world. This has been a shift for all of us, myself included. To understand the difference between systemic racism and individual racism. To hear the stories of Black women and men in ways I’ve never heard them before. To see the pain in our communities as they protest for what white individuals take for granted every day.
I want it to be clear, without a doubt, that me, my team, and the Amber Housley brand, are committed to anti-racism. We are committed to showing up and serving the Black community, to building up the women of color in the Sweet Life Sisterhood, and to doing our part to educate ourselves. Most of all, we promise to do better.
While we are learning what it means to stand loudly against racism personally and as a brand, I promise to not shy away from the hard conversations. They are necessary. I promise to listen. I promise to learn.
There are so many resources out there now, about how to educate yourself and how to support the Black community. I would like to amplify the Black women and men who are leading this effort. Here are a few I plan to use to educate myself:
Book: How to Be Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi
Book: So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
List of Children Books: 33 Books Featuring Black Heroes and Characters That Every Kid Should Read from Everymom
Article: How do I make sure I’m not raising the next Amy Cooper?
Movie (also a young adult novel): The Hate U Give
Movie: Just Mercy
Documentary: Becoming
Miniseries: When They See Us
Course: How to Talk to Kids About Race by Monique Melton
Course: Show Up & Serve: A workshop for White coaches by Trudi Lebron
I am also paying closer attention to the input I get every day—from my email inbox to my Instagram feed. Here are a few of the amazing people that I follow and am inspired by daily along with some new accounts others have referred me to for anti-racism tools and teachings.
I also have made a personal donation to an anti-racism organization and have started exploring volunteer opportunities to bring my entrepreneurship experience to the local community because this is just the beginning, my friend. I know that consuming content can only do so much, and I know donations only go so far. But I am doing my part and I welcome feedback on how I can do better.
If you are a white woman in this community, and you are looking for a place to start your own anti-racism journey, explore some of the links above or check out this helpful article on what you can do, right where you are: 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice.
If you’re a Black woman in our community, I want you to know that I see you, I stand with you, and I am learning. I am learning from the resources listed above, and from others online. It is not your job to educate the Sweet Life Sisterhood, but I appreciate your words and your voice. I also recognize that these events — and all that have come before it — may be weighing on you. I hope you are finding time to care for yourself right now. Here are a few amazing mental health resources that might be helpful to you or someone you love.
Thank you for being you, and for being a part of the Sweet Life Sisterhood.
Amber
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