A note from the Founder, Kyla Harper.
I believe wholeheartedly that individuals and businesses can be great forces for change. But in order to change, we must acknowledge the ways we have contributed to a world where not all people have the same rights, protections, opportunities and experiences. As a white person I must acknowledge that I exist in a world that was systemically made to benefit me at the expense of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). I exist in a world where my skin color has nothing to do with my ability to stay alive, let alone be successful. I exist in a world where Black bodies are falling far too often and I get to decide whether to pay attention or not. That is my privilege as a white person and it’s way beyond time for this inequality to change.
I want it to be clearly stated that both me as an individual as well as Tumble, will be actively engaged in creating a culture of anti-racism within this company. We stand against police brutalizing Black people and taking their lives.
I have to personally take ownership. It is my responsibility to call out racism when I see it. It is my responsibility to infuse money into communities of color. It is my responsibility to support and amplify the voices of activists and revolutionaries. It is my responsibility to diversify my team making sure all people are represented and heard. It is my responsibility to talk less and listen more. It is my responsibility to unlearn racism within myself. It is my responsibility to take action, to vote, and to protest.
Here are some of the tangible ways I am taking responsibility, and I ask that you as Tumble customers hold me accountable.
I will look into all of our suppliers and switch over to BIPOC if available.
I will be increasing the number of Black-owned brands in our online shop by 15% by the end of the year (increasing that percentage further next year).
When doing future hiring (I am currently the only employee of tumble, and have one subcontractor) I will make sure that we are including BIPOC in all levels of the company from leadership down.
When doing photoshoots I will push our inclusivity even further in representing people of all shapes, sizes, gender and ethnicity. From now on we will be holding open casting calls for models when doing shoots to keep expanding our circle of talent.
When hiring out for contract work we will prioritize BIPOC creatives.
We will make sure that our social media content has diversity of images, voices, and perspectives.
We will be donating 10% of monthly sales to one of the following organizations on rotation (we will be sending donations on the 10th of the following month and will keep record of donations made):
The Love Land Foundation :https://thelovelandfoundation.org/ Through partnerships with Therapy for Black Girls, National Queer & Trans Therapists of Color Network, Talkspace and Open Path Collective, Loveland Therapy Fund recipients will have access to a comprehensive list of mental health professionals across the country providing high quality, culturally competent services to Black women and girls
The Innocence Project https://www.innocenceproject.org/ The Innocence Project's mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment. In New Mexico the ONLY program that does this kind of work is The New Mexico Innocence and Justice Project at the UNM School of Law and they are at risk of being defunded. https://lawschool.unm.edu/ijp/index.html
Black Voices ABQ a local organization dedicated to bringing power and voices to the Black community in our city! (They have organized a majority of the peaceful protest and vigils held over the last few weeks)
I know that this is just the beginning, but I am fully committed to doing the work. In the words of my hero, Brene Brown, “ I want to get it right more than I want to be right.”
I’m going to show up imperfectly, I will make mistakes, and I will own them and will be better.
Kyla