Sphyrnas is more than just 'shark clothes', we represent a global community. A passionate community of people who care about nature and the fate of the world, a community interested in bettering the lives of all living things, even stigmatized creatures like the shark.
Our mission is a dedication, a tenacious promise to ethicality and sustainability, we would not be fulfilling that mission if we choose silence in the midst of the Black Lives Matter Movement.
As more voices and worldwide incidents expose the systemic racism and deep-seeded social injustice spanning back centuries within society, we must all use our voices and unique platforms to change this world if we ever hope to secure true equality.
As individuals, as a company we will continue to educate ourselves to unlearn biases and understand how to be better allies everyday in fight against social and environmental injustices. In this time it is so important to take a moment to reflect on what your other favorite brands are saying (and not saying) during these times where support is needed most. We will persist in sharing resources, creators and organizations while challenging other businesses and people within our own lives to step up and do the same.
Racism has infiltrated every system and is in each scientific field, harmful biases and racism continue to impact minorities in marine science as well as thwart conservation efforts. We cannot achieve environmental reforms and have environmental justice without acknowledging and working toward social justice.
We don't claim nor pretend to be topic experts, we are merely students and recognize that we will never know what it is to be a person of color in this world. We will do our part to achieve an equitable and equal future including standing with, amplifying the voices of, and supporting PIBOC businesses/organizations. We've put together a small compilation of helpful social media accounts as well as general information geared toward people looking for a starting point when trying to understand these important movement concepts.
Please understand that this is in no way a 'complete guide',
hundreds of years of erased or replaced history and the (continued) brutal murderers of countless people are not so easily understood or fixed with a few videos and google searches; this is a beginning point.
Continue learning, sharing, taking action, and help be on the right side of history.
We are Sphyrnas. We believe there is no room for hate, no room for racist systems and stand firm in our belief that Black. Lives. Matter.
VOCABULARY LIST:
RACISM- Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.
WHITE SUPREMACIST- person who believes that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races.
RACE vs. ETHNICITY
Racial classifications are socially constructed and based on physical differences (facial features, skin color) or assumed regional origins.
Example: Pacific Islander, Black, White
Ethnicity refers to groups sharing common or specific ancestry or cultural practices, usually associated with geographic region or religious affiliations.
Example: 'Pacific Islander' is a racial category, but its ethnic group would be Samoan
INTERSECTIONALITY- the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group; the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups
OPPRESSION- Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control; The state of being subject to unjust treatment or control; Mental pressure or distress.
ALLY/ALLYSHIP- the ongoing practice of emphasizing social justice, inclusion, and human rights by members of an "in" group, to advance the interests of an oppressed or marginalized "out" group. (Check out 'THE GUIDE TO ALLYSHIP')
"Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance. We need people to do this even if they cannot fully understand what it’s like to be oppressed for their race or ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, class, religion, or other marker of identity. We need people to use common sense to figure out how to participate in social justice."
from author Roxane Gay for Marie Claire,
VOTER SUPPRESSION- a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting.
"Suppression efforts range from the seemingly unobstructive, like voter ID laws and cuts to early voting, to mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement." -ACLU
[Excerpt from ACLU, link below]
There’s proof that certain groups have been deliberately targeted -- for example, the government documents uncovered in the census case proved that the citizenship question intended to harm immigrants. Other times, the proof is in the numbers:
Seventy percent of Georgia voters purged in 2018 were Black.
Across the country, one in 13 Black Americans cannot vote due to disenfranchisement laws.
One-third of voters who have a disability report difficulty voting.
Only 40 percent of polling places fully accommodate people with disabilities.
Across the country, counties with larger minority populations have fewer polling sites and poll workers per voter.
Six in ten college students come from out of state in New Hampshire, the state trying to block residents with out of state drivers’ licenses.
WHITE PRIVILEGE- the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.
(on Instagram) PEOPLE + ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW:
ACLU(American Civil Liberties Union) - @aclu_nationwide
Black AF in STEM - @blackafinstem
(Lauren Ritchie) The Eco Girl - @itsecogal
Brittany Packnett Cunningham - @mspackyetti
(Mariah Padilla) Colors of Climate - @colorsofclimate
(Kira Sneed & Akea Brionne) Diary of Angry Black Women - @diaryofangryblackwomen
Maribel Gonzalez - @decolonizeinstruction
Melanin Base Camp - @melaninbasecamp
Indigenous Peoples Movement - @indigenouspeoplesmovement
Intersectional Environmentalist - @intersectionalenvironmentalist
Black History - @blackhistory
Wild Diversity - @wilddiversity
Movement For Black Lives - @mvmnt4blklives
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson - @ayanaeliza
Color Of Change - @colorofchange
Outdoor Afro HQ - @outdoorafro
HOW CAN I HELP:
Movement petitions, find local chapter info: Blacklivesmatter.com
Petitions and Legal Information: aclu.org
Resources,Petitions, Local Movement and Organizations list: CivilRights.org
Resources, Webinars + Articles, and Petitions: Women's March
Voter and Registration Information: vote.org
READ, WATCH, LEARN, REPEAT:
BOOKS:
Biased by Jennifer L. Eberhardt
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
White Rage by Carol Anderson
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
STEAMING
(Films & Series)
12 Years a Slave MALCOM X I Am Not Your Negro
13th Becoming The Hate U Give
When They See Us Strong Island Do The Right Thing
American Son LA 92 Monsters And Men# BackAF Hidden Figures Who Killed Malcom X ROOTS American Crime Blackkklansman
Time: The Kalief Browder Story Harriet
Trigger Warning with Mike Get Out
The Innocence Files A Ballerina's Tale
Trial by Media (episode 2 & 3) Dear White People
The Black Panthers:Vanguard of the Revolution Selma
PODCASTS
Code Switch w/ Shereen Marisol Meraji
1619 w/ Nikole Hannah-Jones
Witness Black History by BBC
United States of Anxiety w/ Kai Wright
Truth Be Told w/ Tonya Mosley
Seeing White w/John Biewen
Slay In Your Lane w/ Yomi Adegoke & Elizabeth Uviebinenek