PLEASE READ.
At gc2b we have been mourning. At gc2b we have been angry. At gc2b we have been fighting. As a Black/Latinx owned brand with Black leadership, we have BEEN familiar and in constant pain by murders, violence, and police brutality of Black people in the United States. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, Iyanna Dior, and countless others look like our family and friends.
This knowledge, experience, and resiliency is embedded in our company. Not only do we support the protests, calls to justice, and action being taken to dismantle white supremacy, but we stand in firm solidarity with ALL Black lives! We will continue to do the work that is necessary for the justice and liberation of ALL Black people.
We are aware of the privilege we hold as an independently owned company and it is our mission to leverage our resources, talents, and platform to rally and demand justice. We know our following and customer base is very white and very young, so it is important that we use this moment to directly call out and hold our followers, supporters, and customers accountable to challenge their own anti-blackness and racism. To recognize their own privilege and leverage and make change in your own lives – that means holding yourself, your family, your friend circles, and ultimately white America as a whole, accountable and commit to being not only “not racist”, but ANTI-RACIST.
In the past we have used our platform to educate folks on the sacrifices that Black queer people, specifically Black trans women, have made in order for ALL of us to have liberation, and specifically having the ability to celebrate Pride every year. As many of you know, Pride was born from the protests and riots, led by Black and Latinx trans women and queer people, that were fighting against police brutality. We must not forget these struggles and sacrifices as we go further into June. Do not become complacent. Do not stop centering Black lives. We must continue to fight against police brutality, and continue to speak out and hold one another accountable.
Audre Lorde said that "Without community, there is no liberation.” In a society underpinned by white supremacy that was designed to drain us of our will to fight for liberation, it is critical that we center community as it is a source of nourishment. Remember that all things exist together, and that it is okay to be sad, full of rage, and tired -- but it is also important for all of us to remain with one another through community and joy.
In the following, we will list our action steps:
- FIRST STEPS -- We immediately leveraged our platform and revenue to raise funds for Black Visions Collective MN and Reclaim the Block. We raised a total of $5,118 and sent $2,559 to each organization.
- FROM WITHIN -- The gc2b team has collectively and independently been on the ground at local protests, using our individual pages to raise awareness, and making independent donations to various groups. We are privileged to work at an office with a community where we can find support and solidarity. Our team has committed to creating a shared resource bank to support our own continuous learning in fighting for liberation and equality. It is our hope that this resource will serve as an educational tool, allowing for more accessibility to continue to examine our consciousness surrounding race, justice, and equity. We are not perfect, but we will continue to heal and grow as a company.
- OUR FOLLOWERS -- We are now calling on our non-black followers to do their part: recognize your own privilege and bias in your life, have conversations with your family and friends, donate to organizations leading the movement if you can, sign the petitions, go to protest and vow to look to Black leadership, use your platform to raise awareness and to center Black voices.
- OUR PEERS -- We are asking that our fellow queer / trans brands and organizations look inward! Who is in your meetings? Who is at your table? Make a real effort to hire Black leadership within.
- ONE HUNDRED PERCENT -- In 2019, we raised $8,121.77 for MPJI through ‘Rebel Roots’. This past February, we raised $20,000 for BTTF. We are relaunching the ‘Rebel Roots’ and ‘Safe Travels’ collections into one ‘Black Trans Liberation’ capsule!
We will now merge these two projects to relaunch both of them to raise more funds for MPJI, BTTF, No Justice No Peace, and Emergency Relief Fund (which specifically bails trans people out of jail). 100% of the profits from this capsule will go into these orgs doing the work and fighting the fight. In the spirit of Pride, we’ve made a few changes to some of these items and are asking folks to once again support this mission that needed now more than ever.