This week, we made a promise to stand up and speak out against racism – not just now when the topic is big news, but for the long term. How are we doing that? Here are a few ways:
Continuing to improve diversity and inclusion within our organisation. We are striving to do better, and we’re committed to reviewing our recruitment practices to make David and Charles a welcoming place to work for everyone.
Amplifying black voices – working with more black authors on our books, in our videos, and on our social feeds.
Sharing black businesses in our industry and encouraging our followers to support them.
Including black voices in our posts, visuals, partnerships and community.
Continuing to make the time to learn how to be actively anti-racist – and how to use our platform to create change.
Supporting our charity partner WONDER Foundation , who show that Black Lives Matter in everything that they do.
In this post, we want to celebrate the work the making community has done this week to stand up to racism. Follow the hashtag #makersagainstracism for more.
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One of my favourite quotes by one of the most inspiring, empowering & loving activists I am always learning from. I pray for #justiceforgeorgefloyd & that we all stop, breathe and make more time to address & awaken our consciousness to #InstitutionalRacism, to our own privilege (& lack of), prejudices or presumptions we might not even be aware of, put on shoes of fellow human beings not ‘other’ people & proactively be part of making a more loving world where everyone is seen, heard & valued equally. I pray the women who’s racist action towards #ChristianCooperBirdWatcher in Central Park was captured in camera helps her and others examine her response deeply & thank Cooper for his incredibly graceful, emotionally intelligent response on CNN to her apology. Our Stitchable Changemaker #gentleprotest #craftivism kit is made in collab with @theletterpresscollective ethically. 🧵 ~ ~ ~ Stitch by stitch this tool could be a useful, comforting action to take if you’re grieving, not sure where to put your anger at the injustice you’re seeing and can help you formulate your emotions and thoughts into practical effective actions to take to be part of the solutions you want to see in our messy world & remind you that our humanity is bound together ~ ~ ~ ✂️#BeTheChange #knowledgeispower #BlackLivesMatter
A post shared by Craftivist Collective (@craftivists) on May 28, 2020 at 6:27am PDT
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It feels wrong promoting my own stuff right now (I promise I still exist and am working on things). Instead of talking about me, I wanted to put these 10 talented, beautiful, and hard-working women on your radar. If, like me, you scrolled through the people you’re following and saw a whole bunch of white people, diversify your timeline and start with these creators of color. Go a step further and follow @themakersofcolorcollective which highlights people of color in our industry. Don’t just post platitudes and act like that’s enough to solve any sort of problem. Find ways you can help dismantle systemic racism. It can start by diversifying your timeline, but it can’t end there. Find a master list of ways to contribute (and who to contact if you’re arrested while protesting) in the link in my bio. . . . #blacklivesmatter #blackmakersmatter #blackmakers #crochet #knit #yarn #crochetaddict #knitaddict #yarnaddict #etsysellersofinstagram #creatorsofcolor #nojusticenopeace
A post shared by Hook, Yarn, & Singer (@hyscrochet) on Jun 4, 2020 at 12:09pm PDT
If you want to make a difference, stand up to racism and improve racial inclusion in crafting here are some things you can do too…
Share black makers’ accounts and posts on social media
Engage with black makers’ posts with shares, likes and comments to expand their reach
Invite black makers to test your patterns
Follow black makers and tags that black makers use to discover new black makers – here are a few to get you started: #makersofcolorcollective , #blackgirlsquilt , #blackmakers , #blackcrafters
Buy black makers’ patterns, visit their blogs and watch their videos
Donate to causes that campaign for racial equality and justice.
This definitely isn’t everything but it’s a start, and together we can engage in the fight to end racism forever.
