It's Time We Become Better

I want to take a moment to share with everyone we work with and care about where we stand on the state of the world.  

The death of George Floyd and so many others before him has unleashed a collective pain that has been repressed for far too long.

It's time we become better. 

 It's time we reform ourselves and hold each other accountable for even our most subconscious beliefs and actions. It's time we change humanity's narrative once and for all. 

We believe that each of us has the power to consciously shed the type of thinking that holds us back from progress. And that this is the only way we will heal.

Reformation is the sincerest form of apology. The best way to say I'm sorry is by being better. Anything less is simply going through the motions. 

Becoming better is everyone's job.

It's not just a matter of reimagining the role of law enforcement (though that would be a great place to start); it’s a matter of evolving our own day-to-day understanding and treatment of our fellow human beings. To point at only one institution is to minimize the much larger systemic problem that enables it.

The teaching of racism begins at home and at school. It manifests in the workplace. It propagates throughout our communities. It is reinforced by our government and legal system.  

Each one of these institutions is also a place to stop it in its tracks by reevaluating and correcting fundamental flaws. Each is an opportunity to stand up for a new way of thinking and directly influencing an entirely new narrative. Each is an opportunity to not remain silent.

You can create mass movements through seemingly small actions, like standing in solidarity with those who are being unfairly treated, judged or spoken to. 

Becoming better means taking these opportunities to do something differently than you've done before.

Accountability isn't only a matter of prosecuting a few symbolic offenders for the world to see; it’s about changing the world altogether. 

It’s about no longer accepting what we know to be wrong, but instead, banding together to pursue what we all know is right. 

It’s about rejecting false accusations or assumptions made about someone else. 

It’s starting uncomfortable conversations with ourselves; looking within and asking why we believe what we believe; why we think what we think. 

Becoming better is about rejecting separation and embracing unity.

We all have the power to influence this conversation, beginning with the stories we tell ourselves and continuing with our everyday actions.

At Fortune & Frame, we as individuals--and as a brand--are committed to becoming better. We welcome the opportunity to break ourselves down and shed the parts that no longer serve us or the world. 

Though the world cannot be changed over night, there are a number of ways to make a difference in the short-term. Show up to vote. Donate to organizations directly promoting racial equality, if you're in a position to do so. And don't remain silent the next time you're faced with discrimination of any kind, regardless of how uncomfortable it is to speak up.