LOVE Is Doing Better

Like so many of us around the country, I was horrified by the video of George Floyd being suffocated to death by a Minnesota police officer. I also watched the many video clips filmed at protests in response to his death. Many have been peaceful and moving, others have been violent and destructive.

There is only one conclusion I’ve been able to definitively come to: we need LOVE, now more than ever. LOVE for our neighbor, and in particular, LOVE for all people of color.

But LOVE requires action. I’ve taken some time to hear various voices from my own community of activists and have distilled their recommendations to three ways we all can do better. This is what we’ll be doing here at Love Is Project and I urge every member of our community to do the same:

1. Educate Yourself

What most of us learned in school about the history of America is wildly inaccurate. Thankfully there are many books, documentaries and movies about the black experience, both past and present. There’s also nonfiction content designed to help process this experience and guide all of us toward positive action.  

Read, watch, and learn. Here are a few films and books to start with:
– 13th
– American Son
– Dear White People
– When They See Us
– I Am Not Your Negro
– Black Feminist Thought
– How To Be An Antiracist
– The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
– White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
– I’m Still Here: Black Dignity In a World Made for Whiteness

Do Not Remain Silent, Starting at Home
It’s clear we cannot remain silent on the injustices we see. But where do we start?  

We need to educate our children around issues related to racism and prejudice at a young age. There are a wealth of children’s books to support these kinds of conversations and make them age appropriate. 

What about the aunt or uncle who makes an ignorant remark about people of color at the dinner table? Or the cousin who prefaces an inappropriate statement with a vague “but I’m not racist”? Understand that your silence in these situations enables racism. Speak out against injustice by starting at home. If we all do this and hold our families accountable, the ripple effect of change is inevitable.  

Do The Work
We all have different strengths, abilities and platforms. Use whatever means you can to do the work against discrimination and racism.  

Can you use your funds and donate to organizations that are fighting police brutality? Get involved with your local Black Lives Matter chapter? Organize a book club and start using some of the books listed above to help educate members of your community? 

We all have something to offer. If it comes from a place of LOVE, you can’t go wrong. 

What We’re Doing at Love Is Project

All of our Love Is Project bracelets help support female artisans in developing countries. 

However, in an effort to do our part, this month we are going to be donating proceeds from XX to XX, an organization that… (Chrissie, for you to decide)

We are with you all in the fight against racism and injustice. Please join us in spreading LOVE, in whatever ways you can.

xo,