And the Screens Go Dark

We're not even halfway through 2020, and it’s already a year we’ll never forget. As neighbors, parents, and small business owners, there was no way for us to predict what this year would bring. Many weighty events have occurred within three months, even more so this week. These events deserve our full attention, consideration, and action. If we weren’t living through it, I’d say this convergence of events is almost unimaginable.

As I write this, our screens are dark; the marketing and promotional stories are silent, the chatter is gone. Black screens across social media are trying to lift other voices, ideas, and the words of leaders and people of color to speak, share, suggest, invite, and educate. We listen for what we don’t know, for what we can do, and decide what action we will take.

The pandemic meant we had to revamp marketing, messaging, and be sensitive to so much loss and devastation, so much unknown. In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, following a long list of unjust deaths of people of color before him, the unknowns of COVID-19 have faded into darkness.

This week, as our cities burn, peaceful protestors are met with tear gas, and small business owners of all ethnic and racial backgrounds pray their buildings are still intact. One thing is painfully clear: Lives are at stake. As Ruhel Islam, owner of the restaurant Gandhi Mahal in Minneapolis, said, when he got word his building was on fire, “I felt like we can rebuild with bricks, but we cannot rebuild people's life, and we have lost a lot of life.”

We are trying to show support for our brothers and sisters of color, in what we hope are meaningful ways. We have used our time in silence on social media to listen and learn. A video by @prestonsmiles is both informative and thought-provoking, check him out. If you search on the hashtag #amplifymelanatedvoices, you’ll find much more information. The Obama Foundation has a list of resources and links to action items with which we have engaged. We have sent letters to our Senators requesting their next steps, and are committed to making a positive impact on voter suppression beyond our home state. We’ve also realized we do not have artisans of color represented in our work. That’s embarrassing to admit and not even to realize, but it’s true. That needs to be addressed moving forward. We have much more to do.

Intertwined in all of this is the reality that vast numbers of people are without jobs, and bills need to be paid. People of all ages, backgrounds, and skin colors are trying to bootstrap, start new businesses, initiate side jobs, scrambling to make ends meet, and put food on the table.

In the stark quiet of the day, we sit in our uncomfortable silence, determined to remain hopeful, to look, listen, learn, and help build a path forward together.

With this blog, we attempt to document what it’s like to run a small business in the midst of global events and turmoil in America's streets. We document these lessons learned to remind ourselves, and others, who might also reflect and learn from this.