It’s Honesty Hour. | February 2021 Newsletter

Feb 9

Written By Stoked

*|MC:SUBJECT|*

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It's honesty hour.

We'd designed a great February newsletter, focusing on the month of love and what it looks like at work and in our communities. And then, just before it was scheduled to be sent, we realized we'd completely lost sight of the fact that February is Black History Month.

It was a perfect (and painful) example of how blind spots operate in our lives. As a mostly white team, we've been working hard to change our hiring practices so that our team better reflects the rest of America. We also prioritize projects that have a racial and equity lens. As we do so, we work to actively identify and pick away at our biases. Yet, we clearly have a long way to go.

So, in the spirit of love that this month is (also) known for, we're instead sharing some of our favorite Black designers, innovators, and resources. Is this enough? No. Should we center BIPOC and QTPOC whenever we can, all the months of the year? A resounding yes. This is a small intervention, but as we often say... we're not getting ready, we're getting started. Even with a small start.

If you haven't already, drop everything and sign up for 28 Days of Black History.
Design your life as a leader with the talented LaToya Jordan at Lead By Design Lab (She is one of the most badass women you'll ever meet.)
Hey Chicagoans, check out Chris Rudd and his team at Chi By Design.
An anti-racist reading list for designers.
Need a graphic designer? Check out aagd.co, a collective of Black visual communicators who take on projects of all sizes.
DeRay Mckesson's closing Q&A from his keynote speech at the 2017 Black in Design conference at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.
We love this NPR resource for talking with your kids about race and racism.
Follow Rachel Elizabeth Cargle's Instagram account to get daily prompts and racial justice keywords to look up and understand.