News Release: HOW TO BE A BETTER ALLY RIGHT NOW
I hope you saw our statement Monday on racism, justice, and Black Lives Matter. We mean it.
You may have noticed that we have not been posting on our social media channels or emailing as much as we normally do, especially as we would at the start of Pride Month. We have been holding back on posting and emailing out of respect to the protestors and civil unrest across the entire country. We feel this is the conversation we should be focused on. We, like many of you, participated in #BlackOutTuesday.
As much as we all crave a sense of normal right now, this is not the time for business as usual. We know many of you are struggling to recover from the economic impact of the tornado and COVID-19. Most businesses are struggling and were hoping with restrictions easing that you could start promoting your business again. We will celebrate Pride month at a later time, now is not the time to show your Pride or sell things. Our Black brothers and sisters are fighting for their lives.
With events and news changing so constantly, we encourage everyone to be aware of the moment unfolding around you.
We’ve put together a few thoughts to help you think about how to be a good ally during this time:
1- Many people want to help Black people but don’t know how or what to say. Here are some resources to help you be a better ally, as a person and a business:
White Friends Wanting to Be Allies
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
Standing Together Coming OUT for Racial Justice
2- Before you start marketing your business, be aware and sensitive to the news of the day. While you have good intentions, think about who is receiving your communication. Protestors are using social media to report on the front lines of the fight every day. Will your 10% off post or personal story of Pride be well received when it is mixed in with that?
3- You will make mistakes and you will be called out for it. That is okay. For many people, it is impossible to relate to what the Black community has experienced. You might not understand why you are being called out or what you have done wrong. Use it as an opportunity to listen and learn. Our member News Channel 5 Nashville is a great example of how to recover from this. They were called out for bias in their reporting. They acknowledged it and immediately took steps to improve it. You can read their post here.
4- Ask for help. As a Chamber, we have resources to help. If you need communications help during this time, please reach out to our member DOG AND A DUCK Public Relations. They are helping local and national businesses navigate through these challenging times. They are offering all Nashville LGBT Chamber members pro-bono consultation services for PR, messaging and communications. If you would like some help, just email Brian Rosman at brian@dogandaduck.com.
With that said, look for information to come from us concerning COVID-19 recovery you should be aware of, business reopening information, and when appropriate Pride month events. We hope you find this helpful. As always we are here for you.
 |
| ||||||||||
Images