In light of recent events, the Subtle Team just wants to take a moment and update you all on where our company stands and be as transparent as possible within this small, but growing, lash community of ours.
As a company founded and run by Asian Americans, we feel that it’s our responsibility to address all of the anti-blackness and rampant racism in our own communities. It’s no secret that there are generations of learned anti-blackness in the Asian community, and we must work together to end it.
We recognize that as Asian Americans, we have participated in and directly benefitted from white supremacy and anti-black rhetoric in this country. It is our responsibility to hold ourselves, and others in our communities, accountable for our racist actions. We must look inward and reflect on our discomfort, our internalized racism, and our own privilege. It is our own responsibility to educate ourselves on the systems of oppression put in place that disproportionately affect Black people in America.
We want to make it clear that Black lives matter. Not just when it’s convenient, viral, or after a tragedy, but always. The death of George Floyd and the countless other Black lives taken at the hands of anti-black state violence is unacceptable and must come to an end. We must not stay silent; we must take action.
We stand in solidarity with the Black community. We encourage our ourselves and our ambassadors to hold spaces for these conversations and join the fight in dismantling white supremacy and anti-black state violence in America. We challenge ourselves and our ambassadors to speak up against racism, whether it be between family, friends, or co-workers. We challenge ourselves and our ambassadors to show up, show out, and practice thoughtful allyship. We demand justice for Black people in America.
We recognize that taking that first step can be uncomfortable. Not everyone has had the resources or the exposure to fully grasp and understand the issues at hand. It is okay to feel uncomfortable, it is okay to not know everything. What’s not okay is to do nothing. It is imperative that we lean into these feelings of discomfort and educate ourselves. We cannot stay complicit. When we choose to be silent or neutral, we have chosen to side with the oppressor.
The following are the actions Subtle Lashes will be taking in order to support the fight:
- Providing resources to educate our followers on our social media outlets
- Signing petitions and calling/writing our legislators
- Holding space for conversations surrounding anti-blackness in our communities
- Speaking up against our families, friends, and co-workers when we recognize racist and anti-black commentary
- Donating 100% of the proceeds of all Subtle Lashes sales from June 3rd-4th to the Black Visions Collective and Black Lives Matter Global Network.
We want to thank you all for your patience and understanding. This movement is much larger than us, but we must support the fight to dismantle oppression and white supremacy in America. We will do our best to address everything with as much transparency as possible. Remember: Look good, feel good, DO good.
Below are a list of organizations that you can support in the fight.
Update:
As a company, we absolutely value transparency. We have collaborated amongst ourselves and other organizations to maximize the benefits in the long-run for both selected organizations. Although we are a small start-up company, the Subtle Team contributions go beyond monetary donations.
Collectively, we have fundraised $715.00 that has been company matched by affiliated subtle team members to $3,425.00 to maximize the benefits for these chosen organizations.
If you are still reading this, Breonna Taylor's murders are still free. Please consider signing this petition:
https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor