Etsy have made their focus on justice, freedom and reform clear by announcing that they Stand in Solidarity #BlackLivesMatter
Suffering and injustice has once again been highlighted within our societies. Etsy is standing in solidarity with their employees and communities who are voicing their anguish, anger, and deep frustration at the acts which oppress and devalue Black lives.
Etsy’s donations
Etsy believes it is critical to provide support to organizations working tirelessly for criminal justice reform and those that assist Black-led institutions and so have announced that they will be making donations of $500,000 to the Equal Justice Initiative and $500,000 to Borealis Philanthropy’s Black-Led Movement Fund, as well as matching employee donations.
Below is part of the announcement made by Etsy:
We stand against police brutality in all forms.
We stand against a criminal justice system that disproportionately targets Black Americans.
We stand against the widespread disenfranchisement of Black and Brown communities whose voices are silenced at the polls.
Allyship with Black communities is as much a moral imperative as a requirement of our business.
We can’t fight for small businesses, if we don’t also fight for the empowerment of Black business owners.
We can’t hire and care for our Black employees, if we don’t also protect Black lives everywhere.
We can’t be there for women employees, if we aren’t also standing up specifically for Black women.
We can’t advocate for parents, if we aren’t standing with Black mothers and fathers who fear for their Black childrens’ lives.
Black Lives Matter is the civil rights movement of our time, because it addresses a fundamental inequality in our society: that Black lives are too often undervalued. This notion inspired Etsy’s own internal commitments from diversity and inclusion to economic empowerment.
Etsy is built on a belief that communities have the power to change the status quo. Change is hard-fought, and we are committed to this fight.
2 Responses
Not In My Name.
Yet another thoroughly reprehensible and disgusting move from that odious company. I’m embarrassed to have a shopfront on the Etsy platform after this ‘announcement’, but unfortunately they have hegemony on the handmade front.
Proud of Etsy to make a public stand like this and to put money towards the cause. America is not okay. Anyone who can watch the George Floyd video and defend that cop’s violence as warranted is wrong. Anyone who thinks the status quo is okay, is wrong. More powerful people and companies need to push for change and not pretend it is “business as usual.”