It is not enough to pull photos of black people from the archives and start plastering them over Instagram. Or to diversify our feeds and content, without inclusion.
US-based Wedding Planner All The Days is calling on wedding media to step up and do better. To celebrate black love. And not just today. Meanwhile, here in the UK anti-racism campaigner Nova Reid has worked tirelessly for years to bring change.
We’ve been discussing this for some time. But behind-the-scenes talk is not enough. We need to commit to action. To being transparent and taking tangible steps.
Our industry needs to do better. And we need to do better. To make black folx feel heard, celebrated, valued and seen.
Initial thoughts on our next steps (we’ll be turning this into a proper action plan but we welcome feedback meantime):
⚡️ Black writers/illustrators/photographers – we would love to work with you, and to support your talent and time.
⚡️ Black-owned wedding businesses and creatives in Scotland, our platform is small but we will amplify your voices in any way we can.
⚡️ Indie blogs/publications – If, like us, you’re run by a teeny team or individual, then how about we come together to make meaningful change? We could create a working group – advised by a (paid, of course) diversity and inclusion consultant, to walk with us as we listen, learn and implement change.
⚡️ Wedding suppliers/venues – If you truly want to do the work and be the change, then let’s work together to raise the bar. If you don’t know where to begin, we will support you. We’re having these conversations with our supplier community and would welcome your input.
Thank you to all the wedding suppliers who have been sharing their powerful experiences of how it feels to be black in the, still very white, UK wedding industry on Instagram these past few weeks.
And if you aren’t already, then please go follow Nu Bride and show your support to the UK’s first wedding blog celebrating diversity.
And you can download Nova Reid’s Introductory Guide To Anti-Racism here.
The original version of this post was published on Instagram on June 8th 2020 and can be viewed here.
