Is BLM a Movement or Just a Moment?

The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions to say the least. The murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in America, quite rightly shook us all to our core. It has led to the issues of race inequality and racism to be at the forefront of discussions and protests for change.

We have seen a resurgence (although it never did go away) of the Black Lives Matter movement in a more powerful way. It is clear that this time around our cries for justice will not be quietened until we see change. The calls for change are being penetrated in all aspects of society, and not just politics. In the beauty industry we have seen more and more people taking a stance and declaring their positions when it comes to inclusion. However, is this a genuine response to the times we are in or are these declarations of alliance to the Black Lives Matter movement a trend?

Let’s be completely honest. Calling out racism in the beauty industry is nothing new. This is a narrative that has been played out a lot in recent times, and whilst we do see changes happening, we also see that once the noise has quietened inclusivity is once again placed on a back burner. Unfortunately, this is what happens to anything that is a trend.

Once your popularity fades, so too does the cause in the eyes of the majority. So, is this just a trend right now for the beauty industry? Being an ally to the black community is the popular thing to be right now; but what about in a month or a year’s time? Despite the efforts of brands to state their stance, one can’t help but feel that there is a lack of genuine understanding as to why the beauty industry still has a problem with inclusivity. It goes further than making sure your foundation shades have more than two or five options for dark skin tones, or using a particular black influencer in your campaigns.

Brands need to be addressing the racial inequality in their board rooms, their design teams, the management teams, and their differences in pay scales and opportunities for their black employees and influencers compared to their white counterparts. For change to truly occur in the beauty industry it needs to be more than words on an Instagram post, but more of a shift in internal structures. 

Despite some of the obvious reservations we may have about the rise in alliances to the black community within the beauty industry, there is still a sense of hope and opportunity to arise from this. The fact that many brands have openly stated their stance on the Black Lives Matter movement and published their own inclusivity statements, we can hold them accountable. More eyes (from many different backgrounds and not just the black community) will now be watching the actions these brands take to make the necessary changes.

Just like this social media campaign launched by UOMA Beauty founder and chief executive officer Sharon Chuter says #PullUpOrShutUp. This campaign is calling for all beauty brands that have donated to the Black Lives Matter movement to now publicly release the number of Black executives they have working in their companies at a corporate level. They also call for all that are in support of the Black Lives Matter movement to protest with their spending power. Close your wallets until we see those figures, then choose wisely where you spend your money. 

#Theshowmustbepaused is a hashtag created to signify the new Blackout Tuesday campaign on 2nd June. Taking a pause for the day in the media and on social media was a powerful statement of unity. It also got many speaking about the power of the ‘Black Pound’ and how impactful our spending and engagement can be. The past few weeks have definitely highlighted black owned businesses and a surge in people seeking to buy from them. We need to take this as a positive step towards change and hope that this is something that continues to happen. 

At Brown Beauty Talk we spoke to some black leading voices in the beauty industry about their own views on the impact these last few weeks will have. 

PR and Beauty Journalist, Ateh Jewel.

Brands are scared; they don’t know how to respond to Blackout Tuesday. This is not a hashtag, real conversation and action needs to shoot. Decision makers in brands and boardrooms need to be diverse.’ When asked whether she thought this was a movement or a moment, I consider this to be a moment which has become a movement. Enough is enough and Covid -19 has changed us all. I hope the world becomes a more just and spiritually healthier place because of it.

Deborah Johnson, founder of Deborah Johnson PR.

Global eyes on the murder of George Floyd combined with a shift in routines owing to the pandemic has led much of the beauty industry and the country as a whole to open their eyes and stop to listen to the experiences of black people within the Western world. This has resulted in movements such as Blackout Tuesday and many beauty brands declaring their solidarity, donating and making pledges which has been great to witness. But this is not a flash in the pan noise moment and these pledges and commitments need to be deeply thought with long term sustainability in mind.

I imagine many larger brands will endeavour to work with more black influencers allowing for sponsored collaborations to be more equally available. We’re seeing a lot of our media also highlight the great range of black owned beauty brands out there at the moment but this exposure cannot stop in the here and now, and I imagine that editorial opportunities for black owned brands will increase. From an internal staffing level and with the ‘Pull Up For Change’ initiative spear headed by Sharon Chuter, many brands will look to ensuring that their internal teams are and continue to be as diverse as possible and create company cultures that are mindful to the needs of their BAME staff.

The conversation of diversity has been around for a while, but seemed to solely focus on products that were available for all as opposed to opportunities for all. This will hopefully change because I feel that true diversity comes with the economic empowerment that allows for black men and women to have ownership, be decision makers and gate keepers within their own right and within conglomerates. Not just utilising the power of the black pound.

From my perspective, this can never be a moment. As black women with lived experiences within our industry it has and always will be a movement until we do not have to keep on pushing for equality across the board. That said, some may feel that this is just a storm in a teacup that will pass and are purely paying lip service. This level of inauthenticity will always be exposed and with the world shifting as it is, there is no place for that sort of mentality.’

Irene Moore, owner of DM.London (a beauty, wellness and luxury agency) and creator of the mentoring platform SavvyStartupClub.com/podcast.

The Black Lives Matter movement has had a knock on effect on pretty much every industry but it appears that the beauty industry is one of the first to respond. I think the gravitas that the BLM movement has will make having conversations around race in the industry compulsory and not just token. I think the initial changes will be in the way that brands create and market their products to be more inclusive and cater better than they currently have.

At the same time, the black consumer will become more discerning about where they spend their money and their purchasing decisions will increasingly be made based on values and perhaps smaller brands they will want to support. Personally I'd like to see more action at board level within brands where the bigger decisions are made inside brands..

Some companies are already making strides and I suspect that only time will tell. It's likely that many brands will truly sit up and take action once it hits their bottom line - and it will. As a black women and business owner who's been in the beauty industry for nearly 15 years I'm trying to stay positive that the changes will be more than skin deep and play my part in the education around systemic racism in business.

Nneka Fleming, founder of Novel Skincare.

My brand feels bolder. Customers seem to be more interested in the concepts behind our brand and products. Our message of not judging a book by its cover is resonating. There has definitely been an uptake in interest and sales because we’ve had more people sharing our profile online and offline. A lot of small brands struggle with visibility but it’s the opposite right now we are being sought out.’ Is this a movement or a moment? ‘I think it’s an awakening. Social media is having a moment but people are waking up.

My biggest concern is the belief that change takes time. We’ve all been here before and we know the biggest threat to the change we are demanding is time.  If we stop calling them out they will forget, they will move on and all of this will have been in vain. Change depends on urgency. All their white customers need to call them out and say we wont shop here if my black brothers and sisters can't buy what they need here too.

As we can see we are all hopeful that this is a pivotal time for change. We need to see this as a movement that should never go quiet and work to ensure that the beauty industry continues to be held accountable. Brown Beauty Talk will continue to provide a platform for our black and Asian community to be seen and heard within the beauty industry.