Sustained Solidarity with BLM: Transforming support into ACTIONS
If you are an ally of #BlackLivesMatter and feel frustrated because your employer is not taking action, do not underestimate your own voice. Museums, galleries and the like are institutions that believe in process and formula. Change cannot come through due process. It comes through anarchy.
If you believe in this movement and can see that minorities are not treated fairly in your organisation say something. If there’s a meeting to talk about #BlackLivesMatter (or anything else for that matter) and no Black people are present acknowledge to the group that this is not okay. You have a voice to say that you are uncomfortable. Black people have been uncomfortable in these settings for an age. Allies can group together and stand up and say no. You have a duty to disrupt, because you are protected by privilege.
If you are supporting the movement on social media, have conversations with friends, family and colleagues in real life. Challenge their perceptions. At work, if something doesn’t feel right - say so. Do not wait for someone Black to say it. You have a voice. Use it. Imagine what would happen if an entire organisation said to its directors, this is not okay. Change would happen. Save your frustration and ask if you’re doing enough.
A list of resources to help you stand in solidarity with BLM can be found here. Please share across your networks.