This was a hard weekend and week for all of us, especially people living here in the United States. The disease of white supremacy and the abuse of the police against black people has been on stark display and it is heartbreaking to watch.
As a person who has white privilege, I must do more than just watch. I must speak out and stand up. To the women of color who are a part of the Women and Hollywood community, I want to offer my allyship in any way that you need.
Women and Hollywood is not immune from issues of racism, as we are part of the world and racism is everywhere. It is incumbent on white women to remember their privilege and to do the work with fellow white women to support women of color and work to end institutional systemic racism.
In all the work of Women and Hollywood we do our utmost to be an intersectional space and to amplify the voices of women of color whenever possible. It is not lost on anyone who is part of this community that for years we have talked about the need to dismantle the systems that deny new voices and visions opportunities to be a part of the entertainment industry. COVID-19 has shut down the industry and laid bare the deep institutional problems and has created, in the words of my friend and colleague Themba Bhebhe, an “intersectional emergency.”
As the industry awakens from this pause which has cost so many jobs, it is incumbent on those in power to make sure that the systems that are created look very different from the systems that were shut down. If anyone is not thinking about this, they are not doing the essential work that needs to be done. We cannot allow the systems to just be restarted in the same way.
Women and Hollywood and The Girls Club will continue to put this at the forefront of our work. Come join us.
If you have the funds, please consider donating to many, many worthy causes and organizations. Examples of where to donate include Black Lives Matter and Campaign Zero, which arose out of the BLM movement and is dedicated to working towards a “world where the police don’t kill people by limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability.” More ideas about where to donate can be found over at The Cut.
BLM offers free educational resources such as #TalkAbout Trayvon: A Toolkit for White People, and a Healing Justice Toolkit. Please use them.
Standing in solidarity,
Melissa Silverstein
Founder and Publisher of Women and Hollywood
