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Torchbox

Black Lives Matter

Related post categories Digital products Wagtail Digital marketing
2 mins read
C. Daniela Shapiro illustration

Illustration by C. Daniela Shapiro (@cds.art)

Today, Torchbox is voicing its support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Does anyone care that a Digital Agency is saying that it supports Black Lives Matter? Maybe not. And no, it isn’t our role to take a position on every important issue the world faces. But we are this time, for a number of reasons:

  1. The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis law enforcement and the subsequent protests could, we hope, be pivotal in the battle against institutional and societal racism. Every voice raised can help bring about change.
  2. We feel connected. We are increasingly working in the US, and of course, the evils of racism remain a global issue.
  3. We are all being asked to ‘not stay silent’ by the Black community.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King, Jr

We recognise that we are part of the problem. Black people are under-represented at Torchbox. We have previously put this down to a shortage of applicants, but we know now that we have failed to do enough to change this. So, here’s what we are committing to:

  • We will develop a paid internship specifically for a young person from the BAME community.
  • We will search out, work with or support the best bodies working for the development of marginalised communities in our industry.
  • We will review our hiring and graduate development practices, seeking help from organisations like UK Black Tech and Diversity in Tech.
  • We will strive to listen to and amplify under-represented voices in our industry.
  • We will continue to support the Ben Martin Apprentice Award.
  • We will make a donation on behalf of our staff to Black Lives Matter UK and to the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

With these commitments, we hope to be a tiny part of a movement that brings an end to systemic racism. We recognise that this is a modest start. We will continue to ask ourselves how we can do better.

Olly, Tom, Bekah, Amina, Alex & Dave (the Trustee Directors)

Further reading:
Hey Employers: Do Black Lives Matter
Article on how to support Black employees and what else we can do.

Anti racism resources for white people
Excellent list of writings, books, podcasts, videos, films, organisations and more.

How to help if you are in the UK
Links and advice from @citizenhelene

The Plug 
Black tech trends, stories, and breaking news.

Supporting Black employees during this time
Another article with good links on supporting Black employees.
 
Lets talk about race
Race equality report from Civil Society Futures.

Me and white supremacy
A personal recommendation from one of our Employee Trustee Directors.

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