Two Years Later: The State of Black Representation in Fashion and Media
In honor of Juneteenth, we hosted a conversation that sought to unpack the state of Black representation in fashion and media. In a conversation with Laurise McMillian, Jamé Jackson and Shelton Boyd-Griffith, and moderated by Shelcy Joseph, we discussed the highs and lows of the past two years and explored the path to equitable representation and inclusion. The panel was held at NYCXSTUDIO in Williamsburg.
Covid-19 wasn’t the only pandemic that hit the world in 2020.
George Floyd’s murder made one truth painfully clear: systemic racism continues to wreak havoc everywhere. As police brutality protests swept over the world, a wide range of companies (from retail behemoths like Amazon to newer D2C players like Reformation) were moved to stand in solidarity with the Black community and join the fight against racism. They promised to diversify their leadership teams, cast more Black talent in their campaigns, hire diversity councils in an effort to commit to a path of sustained anti-racism. And suddenly, many Black creators saw their social media following skyrocket as brands rushed to feature them on their feeds and in “20 Black Creators to Follow” roundups.
“The thing is, we’ve been having these conversations behind closed doors in the industry for a very long time. But it was like all of a sudden, seemingly overnight, we were thrust out into the atmosphere.”
“The thing is, we’ve been having these conversations behind closed doors in the industry for a very long time,” writer and LinkedIn creator manager Jamé Jackson said during the panel. “But it was like all of a sudden, seemingly overnight, we were thrust out into the atmosphere. Now your white peers are like, ‘What are your thoughts?’ Just because I’m the only Black person in the room doesn’t necessarily mean that I’ve now become the token Black person. “ For all the good intentions, there was also a fair amount of opposition. “You started seeing in Slack messages there was rivalry and debates like ‘If Black lives matter then all lives matter’,” she added.
Alas, that interest waned quickly as algorithms reverted to suppressing Black voices less than a year later. In a viral video, creator Ziggi Tyler showed how TikTok’s Creator Marketplace flagged his use of affirmative phrases like “supporting Black people” “Black Lives Matter” and “Black success” yet allowed “white supremacy” and “supporting white voices” to be entered freely. “We’re tired,” Tyler cried out.
The same year, I spoke to more than ten Black nano and micro Instagram creators who reported a drastic drop in their engagement numbers. As one creator wrote via email: “My engagement/reach dropped drastically in October 2020 following the online protests of the #ENDSARS movement, which condemned the Nigerian president and government for the massacre of its citizens at the #LekkiTollGate. I was born in Nigeria and still have close relatives in the country, so this was a cause that was very near and dear to me. I spoke up and used my platform unapologetically, encouraging conversations to continue online in support of the protests by using trending hashtags. Unfortunately, Instagram banned these hashtags and many users who were also sharing with these hashtags also noticed the decline in reach. I know IG says that shadow bans are not real but I really do believe that my account was flagged.”
As similar reports of social media’s anti-Blackness came out, some naturally wondered if those lengthy anti-racism statements were simply a marketing ploy. As fashion editor Shelton Boyd-Griffith shared during the panel, “It’s been very performative. We got to see who really put their money where their mouth was. There were some corporations that donated to charitable organizations and practiced real diversity (highlighting Black voices and promoting Black people). But then we also saw a lot of fluff.”
“We got to see who really put their money where their mouth was. There were some corporations that donated to charitable organizations and practiced real diversity (highlighting Black voices and promoting Black people). But then we also saw a lot of fluff.”
One particular women’s magazine hired Boyd-Griffith and a few other Black staffers immediately after the racial reckoning, only to fire all of them, one by one, a year later. In a classic case of performative allyship, the company stopped investing in Black stories as soon as they were no longer the news du jour. These experiences prompted questions surrounding corporate accountability, and in March 2021, the New York Times published a diversity report shedding light on any progress achieved by these companies. They selected 64 of the leading fashion and women’s media brands as an indicator of overall industry change. Perhaps not surprisingly, the majority of companies avoided the interrogation citing hurdles such as “the financial repercussions of the pandemic and the lack of diversity in their geographic regions.” Furthermore, “They suggested that we should be looking at diversity overall, not just Black representation.”
These responses suggest that the onus is once again on Black people to dismantle systemic racism. A task all three of our panelists are leading the charge on in their own way. Content strategist Laurise McMillian helped launched R29 Unbothered (Refinery29’s black women content hub), and is now championing Black and Brown talent at Instagram. “I make it a point to cast Black founders and creators whenever I have the opportunity,” she said. Meanwhile, Jackson works closely with Black creators to help them grow on LinkedIn, while Boyd-Griffith uses his voice and bylines to amplify Black and queer artists.
Despite the grim industry outlook, there is hope for the future. From the media companies that have made Black stories a key content bucket to the companies casting more Black models for their catwalks and campaigns, progress is slow but somewhat steady. View all the event photos here.