5 Lessons I Learned From Share The Mic Now
Rolling into June, we were at the start of a Civil Rights Movement, which isn't something I imagined ever saying in my lifetime...yet here we are. I am not someone who is openly vocal about my political and civil points of view, especially not on social media -- I've always felt those conversations best kept close to the chest, with friends and family behind closed (private) doors. I've seen a number of heinous acts become hashtags over the years and have almost never offered up a public opinion, on everything from mass shootings to police brutality.
This time feels different.
Everything right now is different.
As industry after industry sought to be "better" on the heels of George Floyd's murder, I watched as the home industry fumbled to fall in line...
magazines updating their annual "Black Designers" round ups
showrooms hosting diversity & inclusion panels
blogger & influencers sharing their favorite creators of color
And everyone promising to be a better ally...because they're all awake now.
Watching all of this unfold on my feed left me with conflicting feelings, feelings that also forced me to check in with my own privilege as a Black woman in American (not to be confused with "Black privilege" aka White retort for racism). Because many of the daily tragedies I see on the news never made their way onto my doorstep, I was sheltered from a lot of America's ugliness. I had a pretty decent upbringing -- at least not the negative stereotypical upbringing attached to most Black people -- so going into adulthood, I was shielded from a lot, which is, in part, why I never openly engaged in these kinds of conversations. But as I explored my own "privilege" to look the other way, I realized this privilege was actually an asset -- I have a perspective and a voice that isn't often heard in these conversations...and maybe it was time that changed.
Scroll after scroll, I was seeing my Black peers get "amplified" and their following counts double (even triple) and I began wondering, "How long will this last?" Soon after, #blackouttuesday happened -- White influencers/brands/creators were "muting" themselves to make space for their Black counterparts. Cool...but then what? What would become of these "Black boxes" when the dust settled? How long will this last? What does all of this even mean? How will this instigate actual change?
I am someone who believes in divine timing, so I believe it was no accident that while I having these thoughts, I saw Luvvie Ajayi -- one of the very few influencer/celebrities I follow -- posting about an initiative she was coordinating, Share The Mic Now. As she continued to post about it, all the way through its fruition, I kept thinking this is what the home industry needs -- not more round ups, not more panels, not more platitudes...but something that could prompt conversations, conversations that could prompt actual change, even if it's of the smallest kind.
The day after the Share The Mic Now, my thinking went from "somebody should do this" to "why don't I do this!?" and I began compiling a list of potential participants within the home industry -- interior designers, architects, shelter magazine editors, bloggers, and influencers -- looking within my immediate network while also shooting for some big names...because, why not?! By the following week I'd corralled nearly 100 participants for two activations of the #sharethemicnowhomeedition, establishing a reach that was truly unimaginable when I'd started this endeavor.
As I prepare for more #sharethemicnowhomeedition activations, I'd be remiss if I didn't take minute to think through all that the first iterations of the sharethemicnowhomeedition has taught me thus far.
As Seen On…
Activism Isn't One Size Fits All
I've said over & over, "I am not an activist" but what is activism...really?
the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change
I took up this initiative because I knew it could possibly my way of contributing to the movement...so that it'd be more than a moment. I don't participate in protests because of my aversion to large crowds and loud noises. I make decent money but certainly not enough to regularly cut donation checks. But I'd never decided what my kind of activism would look like...till now. As a member of the home industry, why not start right here with this? With so many brands, publications, and the like finally paying attention -- for real -- I could seize this moment "to bring about social change" aka activism.
And guess what?
Just after the first activation, so many of the Black participants reached out to let me know how much had changed for them -- from new friendships to increased followings to amazing business opportunities. Two words: social. change.
Video Pitches Are Underrated
I've said often that learned skills, even if not apparent at the time, are transferable. In this instance, it was a combination of my public relations background and time on YouTube that served me. After writing out a lengthy pitch email to send to the dozens of participants I had in mind, I knew I was in no mood to copy and paste this monologue. I wanted to get in front of these people -- many of them strangers -- in a way that was concise but powerful.
Enter video!
I knew what I wanted to say, so I pulled back my hair, threw on a nice top, applied some lip gloss, grabbed my tripod, and turned on my phone's camera. I uploaded the video and sent the link to more people than I can count, with a short introduction. In most instances, the video was replied with a "yes!" some people even noting that it was the best pitch they'd ever gotten. That's a praise & honor I do not take lightly, by the way.
Trust Your Big, Crazy Ideas
You should know by now I am not one to run away from my big crazy ideas -- subscription box, virtual conference, podcast, self-published book... just to name a few. Believe it or not, I've had lots of other ideas that don't always come to life but the ones that do, I never regret. I have learned to trust that pesky, nagging voice in the back of my head whenever an idea takes over me. That was the case here -- I found myself obsessing over the original Share The Mic Now, following as many of the takeovers as I could, in addition to browsing the hashtag, #sharethemicnow (p.s. I wouldn't advise following this hashtag because it's A LOT!). I knew that I would never forgive myself if I didn't follow through with this idea and I knew trying & failing would absolutely be better than not trying at all. Spoiler: I didn't fail.
Influencers Are People Too
Confession: when I initially made my list of potential participants, it was primarily comprised of contacts in my immediate network. But then I looked at the roster of the original Share The Mic Now and it was filled to the brim with heavy hitting non-Black participants from politicians to actresses. Why shouldn't I reach out to heavy-hitters in our industry? They're people too! As I browsed the Instagram feeds of some of these larger accounts, many had already publicly shared their points of view re: the Black Lives Matter movement, from posting the black box on their feed to sharing Black creators to follow. If they didn't reply or even if they said no, I'd be no worse off than I started so I had nothing to lose by trying. I trusted my instincts, I trusted the impact of the initiative, and I trusted the reach of my network. In the end, we were able to secure participants such as Emily Henderson, Joy Cho, Brian Patrick Flynn, Young House Love, Design Sponge, Design Milk, and Architectural Digest PRO...all willing to open up their accounts and share the mic.
I Am Learning Just As Much As White People
In “sourcing” participants for this event — even after so many reshares of creatives in the weeks prior — I discovered so many talented individuals in this space... Black AND White alike. There was so much talent unknown to me out on Instagram that I was almost mad at myself for actually trusting the explore page & algorithm in helping me curate my follow feed. Amazing talents in my own community were unknown to me so how could I possibly expect WHITE people to know of them. Impossible? No. But I found myself less offended at their homogenous feeds because I was hit with the swift reality that my feed wasn’t any better.
These aren't the only 5 lessons that came from my #sharethemicnowhomeedition endeavor, however, these are the ones that have stuck with me most recently. I am sure with every activation -- as it stands, the plan is to close out the year with 12 more, in addition to 6 deconstructed town halls -- I will continue to learn and grow.
What's next for the #sharethemicnowhomeedition?
In addition to the aforementioned activations, I have thought daily about how this will truly instigate shifts in our industry so that this moment is more than a moment. I don't have all the answers and I still struggle with being an "activist" in this way, but I am also very proud of the conversations and changes already underway.