With everything that’s been going on in the world, I haven’t had the energy to really socialize or celebrate. When #BlackOutTuesday came my feelings about the outpouring of support was conflicted. On one hand, I was excited to see all the black squares from companies and individuals claiming to be in solidarity. But, on the other it felt like a lot of the support wasn’t genuine.
In the wedding industry specifically, there were platforms claiming to be allies of the #BlackLivesMatter movement with practically NO history of diversity or inclusion whatsoever. I started scrolling their profiles to see if I saw a reflection of me anywhere on their account. When I didn’t, my immediate reaction was to question the authenticity of the support. How can you stand in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter when you don’t even display black love, publish black weddings or feature black vendors?! Admittedly, I spent a lot of time hitting the “Unfollow” button that day.
The following day, June 3rd, Junebug Weddings made a “Support Black Wedding Vendors” post. The call to action was to tag black-owned businesses in the industry. This resulted in them publishing a list of “200+ Black Wedding Vendors to follow on Insta” on their blog. Fast forward to that Friday, Brides published a list of “100+ Black-Owned Wedding Businesses to Support Now and Always”.
Wow, this is a shift towards change that is LONG overdue! I’m excited to have made both lists and be in the company of what I consider “industry royalty”. I’m optimistic that these gestures of recognition aren’t “just for the moment”. I look forward to seeing the continued support from these and other platforms because we’re watching…
