As two white-privileged women, this week has been a real eye opener for us. It has been a time that has left us sitting with uncomfortable, even overwhelming feelings. When we stumbled through our responses, frozen with fear of saying the wrong thing, and sometimes acting ignorantly we were knocked off our rockers to say the least.
We made mistakes that disappointed and hurt feelings of our fellow community members, and because of this, we have taken the time needed to deeply reflect on how we could do something more meaningful than just respond and post platitudes on social media.
We want to show up and fight racism and help make this a turning point for ourselves, and the community we respect and champion so dearly. As such, we will continue to make everlasting change that supports diversity and inclusiveness within our business and the community we have created.
Upon reflection, we have come to understand that growing up, we did not have conversations about systemic racism and our white privilege has been blind to us. And while we have not been perfect in advocating change to address this issue, we are trying to advocate now.
We want to burst this bubble of white privilege we live in. To help make this time in our history a turning point, here is what we are working on. We will continue to engage in difficult conversations, especially with those who have challenged us. Listen as much as possible, which includes reviewing the feedback you have shared. Educate ourselves by using all the resources available to us.
We will continue to support Black women within our community, as members, as contractors, and as collaborators while we elevate our understanding of not only their personal struggles but the struggles they face as small business owners in our community! We will also remain sensitive to the reality that the journey for small business owners is not a one-size-fits all experience.
Learning more about the systemic barriers women of colour encounter is a vital step. Determining how we can support those facing those systemic barriers is what we will put into action. We will use our platform to advocate in ways that is authentic to us on Anti-Racism and Systemic Racism Education.
We know we will get stuff wrong along the way, but we will learn from those experiences. This will be a long road as we need to unlearn much of what has been instilled in us, but our drive to make ourselves better, to challenge one another, to improve society and to change is real. We are sorry it took so long for us to get here. Our ignorance is not bliss. It’s a sick-to-your- stomach feeling of how disappointed you feel for being uneducated of the human experience of others and therefore ignorant in your past thoughts and actions. It’s heavy. But we won’t stop because of how important this is.
We invite you on this journey with us. Please review some of the resources we have shared on our online platform to become better informed and comfortable in sharing your knowledge with others. We are pleased many of our community members are already taking action and swiping up, clicking links and taking the time to learn more. Let’s keep moving forward and have meaningful conversations not only on social media, but in our homes, community and businesses.
Kirsten MacDonell & Kayla Kaliszuk
YEG Boss Babes Co-Founders