I know two things for sure:

Black Lives Matter.   

&

Dismantling systemic racism is GENERATIONAL work.  

Reina Rebelde unequivocally stands with the Black community in the fight against systemic racism and violence. The tragic killing of Black people in the last few months by law enforcement is, sadly, nothing new in America.  With renewed vigilance, we face how much work remains to be done, individually and as a society. 

Unfortunately, peaceful protests, social media outcries, and conversations around the dinner table will not change systemic racism on their own. After the outrage calms down from media attention, the difficult and unsexy work required to remedy these wrongs must persist if history is not to be repeated. So long as we have a platform and a voice, we will stand in solidarity with the Black community in the inexcusably persistent battle for equal treatment. Our position on this human rights issue has and will continue to cost us customers and followers. As a small, Latina-owned business that values and needs every single customer to survive, that is a bitter consequence. And while upholding principles is sometimes costly, recent events confirm once again that operating without them leads to disaster. 

For those of you who are with us, please stay tuned as we roll out our initiatives over the coming months in support of the Black community. Our first step was to look inward at our own practices and relationships. As a start, we’re conducting an internal review all of media outlets we have worked with in the past and evaluating whether their coverage of the protests was impartial and fair to the Black community. Those that have failed in this regard will be removed from our list. 

Looking outward at the larger societal work to be done, we know meaningful change will only come from persistent advocacy. So, as a small brand with limited resources, we are contemplating what support we can provide on a sustainable basis and where that support will have the most impact. One area of focus will be stemming unjustly disparate treatment by police and translating the spirit of the protests into increased numbers at the polls in elections nationwide. We are trying to be deliberate and thoughtful about how best to implement our contributions as a brand and invite your suggestions of organizations doing great work.  

 

Regina Merson

Founder