*This was originally written in June of 2020. We publish it now, in 2021, in anticipation of new rounds of institutional statements and diversity training initiatives. We consider this document to be an ongoing draft for “BIPOC” fighting for the materialization of racial justice: and for those in struggle, welcome amendments/adaptions to the language we’ve provided below, as our aim is to contribute to the creation of useful weapons against oppressive power.
We have noticed an influx of emails/drafts from institutions & corporations regarding “racial equity” “diversity” “racial justice” that stress how said institutions stand with Black Lives Matter. We believe these letters, internal correspondences, and public and private declarations to be empty at best, depraved at worst. We refuse statements that function as gestures without accountability or promises that lack material outcomes. These gestures and promises are forged through empire and these statements are an affront to the generosity, scholarship, and labour of individuals that have dedicated countless hours, years, their lives, towards transformation.
Statements without withdrawals of power are expressions of structural domination and white supremacy. Public relations without actionable items merely confirm open secrets.
We ask that the companies/institutions who have released statements about their commitments to racial justice follow up with a concrete plan to dismantle white supremacy and antiblackness in their various organizations, and then execute their plans accordingly. A non-exhaustive list of material actions might include:
- A bi-yearly transparency audit/report which includes investigation into: labour (including uncompensated, affective, unacknowledged, and overtime labour), comparative data on recruitment, retention, and promotions, pay disparity, equity based succession planning, leadership’s record of contributions to racial justice within the institution, board composition and investments, an accounting of the organization’s financial provenance, and detailed land records.
- Public, formal, and detailed acknowledgement of the institution/corporation’s perpetuation of racialized harm and violence.
- Action steps that outline how the organization will achieve: compensation equity for BIPOC workers, including retroactive pay for undervalued and unacknowledged labour.
- Mandatory anti-oppression training for senior management and white employees, which will occur on a quarterly basis, with additional funds dedicated to the professional development and mentorship for non-white and entry-level staff, should they seek it.
- A transformation of how maintenance, security, and other outsourced workers are employed within the institution. The precarity of subcontracting will end, and essential workers will be integrated into staff positions, their wages commensurate with the location’s living expenses (ie: minimally they will be able to afford good housing, eat, pay utilities, afford childcare, thrive etc), and be eligible for the full range of employee benefits, specifically healthcare.
- A transformation of the internship process. Which includes: the eradication of unpaid internships and payment for internships commensurate with the location’s living expenses (ie: intern will be able to afford good housing, eat, pay utilities, afford childcare, thrive etc).
- An ongoing financial commitment to BIPOC-led organizations to be utilized as the companies see fit. The exact percentage and contracts for this commitment must be posted as restitution rather than as a “gift” or “donation” on the pledging organization’s masthead.
- An accounting for the organization’s land/energy use, including: the said companies extractive material consumption, its relationship to export/import policies and toxic waste, and its commitment towards climate justice.
- Recognition for unions and union development. Full stop.
- A full divestment from the prison industrial complex, and complete withdrawal of contracts with: police, private security firms, and ICE. With a full report that accounts for the organization’s historical and financial involvement with said institutions.
Additionally, there seems to be a misunderstandings of equity, which has disregarded the difference of care needed for non-white staff. Lack of care too often results in silencing, reducing, and minimizing the contributions and input of BIPOC workers. In order to address this fallacy, a process that requires an intimate acknowledgement of unequal labour and risk distribution will need to be put in place, which will require more labour from white people. As in, BIPOC will not be asked to participate in the same trainings, seminars, and/or perform additional uncompensated labor. Additionally, BIPOC will not be asked to be part of mandatory meetings that require BIPOC staff to participate in and be forced to regurgitate narratives of insitutional reform. The processes that demand BIPOC staff to educate, revise, and repair the institution while normalizing their uncompensation of these efforts will end.
There must be courage to move beyond false declarations of radicality and radical ideas, and towards democratizing and materializing risk. Institutions and persons partaking in this process will forego the language of allyship and solidarity and move towards distributing risk. Thus, the actions required of radical transformation will be: unprofitable, unpopular, and unknown. Failure and risk will be necessary for transformation, and requires material loss and relinquishing power on behalf of institutions and corporations.
We consider the aforementioned to be the bare minimum to materially establishing some semblance of racial justice & equity.