Dear #UX Community, tomorrow is Monday. From your tentative tweeting, it seems like many of you have finally discovered that anti-Black racism is alive and well in America. Don't know what to do? Want to move beyond the hashtag activism? A thread
1. Call out your asshole friends
1. Call out your asshole friends
2. Don't know any assholes? Doubt it in this industry but if not call out your "all lives matter" friends. Call out your "apolitical" friends. "Neutrality" is racism. Silence is racism. Start the conversation on and offline.
3. Don't know how to articulate what you're currently feeling? Read, absorb, and share the work of others:
4. However, know that certain online material can be re-traumatizing and dangerous. Do not share images or videos of the killings without warning, especially those set to automatic. Blur any images or use only audio of protestors to protect their identity:
5. Have some extra money? Donate to a local bail fund. There are general bail funds as well as event-specific funds.
6. Know that anti-Black racism exists and is bad but don't understand how it works in everyday life? Read some books. Watch some videos. Listen to some podcasts. Order materials from your local bookstore (find yours via bookshop org because fuck Amazon): docs.google.com/document/d/1BR…
7. If you're an org leader, read this thread to learn how to support your Black employees from the top:
8. For managers, how are you ensuring that the ability to be "present" & "push through" at work during this time doesn't further disadvantage Black employees? How are you making promotion/raise considerations? Distributing promotable projects? Sponsoring?
9. During COVID, companies have given special consideration to parents. However, Black families have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. How are you supporting families who must also contend with this?
10. For any employee, think about the last few conversations you had, especially with white people. How many of these examples in the grey zone came up?
11. But it's not just about avoiding reinforcing racism and white supremacy. How do you actively challenge it with your everyday behavior? How do go from being an "ally" to an "accomplice"? This requires you to
•Include
•Amplify
•Intervene
•Sponsor
•Enforce &
•Mobilize
•Include
•Amplify
•Intervene
•Sponsor
•Enforce &
•Mobilize
12. Do you pronounce non-English names correctly? Do you avoid mixing up the only two Black employees in the room? Do you organize team activities that are friendly towards people of different religions or class backgrounds, categories that tend to intersect with race?
13. Do you acknowledge, document, and share the positive contributions of your Black colleagues to people on your team? Do you share resources or opportunities to amplify their expertise to a broader audience in and outside your organization? Do you sponsor them with managers?
14. How do you act when there aren’t Black employees around? Do you call out stereotyping jokes or offensive language? Do you document and report racially insensitive behavior? Do you help build company infrastructure so #DiversityandInclusion initiatives have buy-in and power?
15. And *finally* for those of you on #DesignTwitter, look back at who you followed, retweeted, & engaged with the week before last. I bet they were all white & people you know. For better or for worse, design careers get a big push from social media. Amplify Black expertise.
16. And maybe most importantly *this.* All day, everyday. Your Black friends and colleagues are not your therapist, they are not your teachers. Put in the work of self-reflection and behavior change without centering yourself
