Consistency Builds Trust.

Last night I saw a bike shop valiantly post “All Lives Matter”. They were called on it, and within minutes replaced it with “Black Lives Matter”, and a few multicultural fist emojis… 

This. Aint. It. 

Consistency builds trust. Consumers have been paying attention long before these protests broke out. If you’ve been consistent, if you’ve been trying, we’ve noticed. If you’ve been bringing your Blue Lives Matter flag to Sea Otter, or all lives mattering in the comments, we’ve noticed. 

Every day I’ve been aiming to dig a little deeper into creating a roadmap to help get the bike industry out of its fog. 

Accountability is the nail that will seal the coffin every single time. 

No more empty words and waiting for time to pass so we forget. Say you’re gonna do something, then do it. 

I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to diversify your team. 2020 has been the ultimate shuffle for everyone. We’ve had to pivot, and pivot, and pivot again. While you’re pivoting, how about you pivot your leadership into reflecting the communities you serve?

This idea that fixing income inequality is a complete solution to racism is a view that’s seeping in white saviourism. Yes, income inequality is a HUGE problem, but that inequality is the result of hundreds of years of elevating whiteness. 

I encourage you to donate to justice funds, bail funds, social justice organizations. I also encourage you to read books, read articles, learn as much as you can about anti-racism. 

Beyond that, I again encourage you to diversify your team, shake up your senior leadership, shake up your workforce. Diversity is not just a trend. Caring about Black Lives shouldn’t be just a trend. 

We won’t be in crisis mode forever, and when the dust starts to settle, that’s when the real work begins. What kind of company will you be moving forward? Will you still sell bikes to the police? Will you continue to tokenize Black and brown folks to appear diverse? 

It’s not a matter of simply finding any Black person who will talk to you right now. Your neighbor, your co-worker’s wife, that guy you met on a group ride. There are qualified folks who have been doing this work forever, who are passionate about this work, and who’s voices will push you in the right direction. Diversity trainings, CEO guidance, etc.

What long term actionable commitments will you make to create a better space for your employees and customers alike? The days of just getting mad and brushing it off have passed. Start having those conversations now. You can build the foundation of what things will look like moving forward. 

This also goes for cycling media. Y’all are being EXTRA quiet. There’s was lots of coverage on COVID-19 things and when Froome accidentally cut his finger in a kitchen accident and we got several articles about it, but when Black folks are fighting for their lives in the streets, we get nothing but crickets? 

I can’t help but think it’s partially because your newsrooms/ staff mostly don’t have the range. Is there a single Black full-time staff writer employed by anyone in cycling journalism? Even in the realm of POC journalists, it’s pretty slim as far as I know (I would LOVE to be wrong about this btw, so please call me on it). This has lead to some pretty disrespectful storytelling.

We can all do something, we can all do better. Start now.

If all lives matter, prove it.