You may have noticed a significant lack of posts while we have been closed. Here at Home Harmony, we've all been a bit distracted by the current state of the world.
In our private lives, we are all passionate about supporting the Black Live Matter movement. Up until this point, we had not made a public company statement for a couple of reasons. We've personally been dealing with the increased mental health struggles that come from so much isolation and constant newsfeed updates about yet another murdered black person at the hands of the police, so we stepped away from making posts on the business page while we grappled with these issues.
But most importantly, BLM isn't a marketing trend. We didn’t want to come off as fake and pandering like all the companies that suddenly fly rainbow flags for the month of June. Before we made a statement we wanted to really look at the intention behind it and make sure that we felt we could get that point across.
While we have been shut down we've been individually supporting the protests as best as we can (while still staying safe from coronavirus), making phone calls to legislators and local organizations, and having difficult conversations about racism with friends and loved ones.
We've watched monuments fall with the bittersweet joy of knowing it's just a tiny step in a much longer fight for what's right. We've sent supplies to protesters, shared articles, and advocated for the need to redistribute much of the funds used for police into education, community support, and better access to mental health care.
As a company, we are passionate about equality, empathy, and inclusion. We hope we've made that pretty clear along the way. Even still, we recognize that the network we have built, and are part of, is predominantly white. We try our best, but we have privilege, we've done things imperfectly and we've made mistakes. As noted by writer Ijeoma Oluo, “The beauty of anti-racism is that you don’t have to pretend to be free of racism to be an anti-racist. Anti-racism is the commitment to fight racism wherever you find it, including in yourself. And it’s the only way forward.”
We will continue to show up to these conversations because without empathy and a desire to listen, our society will never change. We will continue to follow the lead of black leaders, black women, black trans and nonbinary folks, black youth, and all who are out working day in and day out for liberation.
We hope you will join us on this journey by checking out the resources and organizations listed below.
Richmond organizations fighting for racial justice:
Richmond Transparency and Accountability Project: https://www.facebook.com/richmondvaTAP/
Justice and Reformation for Marcus Peters: https://www.facebook.com/justiceformarcuspeters/
Richmond for All: https://www.facebook.com/RichmondForAll/
Race Capitol : Facebook
Race Capitol on Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/user-461048344
Virginia Student Power Network : https://www.facebook.com/VAstudentpower/
Leaders of the New South : https://www.facebook.com/LeadersOfTheNewSouth/
Southerners on New Ground : https://www.facebook.com/ignitekindred/
Black PRIDE RVA : https://www.facebook.com/blackpriderva/
Richmond Community Bail Fund : https://rvabailfund.org/
Other organizations to support:
Black Lives Matter : https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/
Defund the Police : https://defundthepolice.org/
BLK RVA : https://www.visitblkrva.com
7 Weeks of Anti-Racism Action Already Planned Out For You : www.instagram.com/p/CCByG2FneFF/
Richmond Black Restaurant Experience : https://www.vablackrestaurantexperience.com/
Originally posted July 4th, 2020
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