5 - The history, the movement, the people

<p>Welcome to the fifth episode of our new show, Blended. Blended is all about opening up conversations and giving the mic to all of the underrepresented voices in our industry – women, the LGBTQIA+ community, people of colour, those with disabilities, whether they’re visible or hidden, and many more.</p> <p>Today in Episode 5, ‘The history, the movement, the people,’ we’re going to be talking about the Black Lives Matter movement, specifically with 2020 in mind; why the movement blew up last year; the support, and lack of support, it received; its commercialization and our panellists reflections.</p> <h2><strong>IN THIS EPISODE WE DISCUSS:</strong></h2> <p>[03.31] Introductions to our Blended panellists.</p> <ul> <li>Len – Co-Founder & CEO at Everlasting Love Fulfilment</li> <li>Al – Global Vice President: Supply Chain and Procurement at PCI Pharma Services</li> <li>Audrey – In house specialist at Orchard Custom Beauty</li> <li>JD – Chief Creative Officer</li> <li>Madison – Enterprise Sales Director at Fairmarkit</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p>“The BLM movement, to me, is bringing attention and awareness to the fact that it’s time for the conversation to stop being so hypothetical - there needs to be action.” Al</p> </blockquote> <p>[13.18] The impact of George Floyd’s death and the panellists observations.</p> <ul> <li>JD’s experience of modern racism in the South.</li> <li>The difference between peaceful protest and the rioters, who helped to derail the support behind the movement.</li> <li>How businesses tick boxes with diversity officers, but aren’t translating that into practical change for their staff or their communities.</li> <li>Victim blaming and justifications for the murder of black people.</li> </ul> <blockquote> <p>“When the movement happened, I was excited because I really want us to finally unite. But what I was afraid of, is that we had a lot of young people who had the gumption to get out and march, but I didn’t know if they had the leadership to communicate with the people in the community.” JD</p