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An Anti-Racist Company

by Katy May Spencer

The path for Coba Crystals as an antiracist company: We may be small (just me!) *and* small can be mighty, moral and just.

Coba Crystals an antiracist company and this is how we do it:

  • Antiracism is an explicit value that we name in our values of Transparency, Happiness, Integrity, Generosity and Gratitude. None of those values are possible without racial justice and antiracism work.
  • We commit to a diverse staff and to advocating for the spaces, panels, campaigns and  collaborations we engage in to be inclusive. (Guided by the Influencer Inclusion rider shared by @growandglow @lilydiamond and championed by @francesmcdormand in her Academy Awards acceptance speech.)
  • We prioritize working with BIPOC creators, consultants, interns and will use our influence to bring awareness, attention, and investment to our BIPOC colleagues, clients and communities. Our goal is to spend 25% of our company budget in the BIPOC community within 3 months. (We’re currently at ~20% and will increase this).
  • We commit to ongoing anti-oppression work, and to sharing the resources we’re finding useful on a regular basis.  “Let no good trigger go unwasted” as @Chaneldurley says!
  • I commit to making mistakes. As the founder of Coba Crystals, I commit to doing my antiracism work openly, in front of you and everyone else. It’s the only way forward. The very power of whiteness resides in the fact that it is able to be unnamed, unspoken, and occupies the zero point. I commit to disrupting that power, naming the privilege, and actively choosing to be antiracist. I commit to listening and hearing those who call me out, hold me accountable and confront me in this work.
  • We commit to liberation for Black folx, for Indigenous folx, for POC, for women, trans, bi, and for those held in oppression. Crystals are mined in extractive ways that are harmful to humans and planet alike. We were founded to change that and we’ll continue to work towards that goal every day. 

Liberation is a joyful act. Service to the collective is a joyful path. We undertake this deeply painful and traumatizing work in service of liberation, so that black folx and all of us may walk in safety, free from suffering and in joy. 

Please do correct me and call me out when you see white supremacy present in this post and all of my work - behaviors like virtue signaling, credentialing, and white fragility are insidious and will continue to show up in my work. I will fail at this. I will make mistakes. I pledge to listen when you correct me and make an effort to do and be better. 

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