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Black Lives Matter: Leesa's Response and Actions

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Black Lives Matter.

We stand with our Black community. We stand for justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the many before them who were fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters. 

At Leesa, we have struggled to find the words and the place for our words. The reality is there are no words that can describe the pain, anger and injustice in our nation. The lives lost and the futures stolen. 

These tragic and senseless deaths are a result of a deep and systemic racism that can only be overcome by active anti-racism and awareness. Over the past week, the Leesa team has been focusing internally and challenging ourselves on how we can be a part of the solution: how we can be a true ally to our Black co-workers, community members, customers and giving partners. And it starts with learning and going beyond words to transform our mission to action and advocacy. 

This starts immediately. Here are some of the items we're taking action on immediately: 

  1. We are creating an internal monetary fund to support local & national Black Lives Matter & Anti-Racism organizations, as well as matching all of our employees’ donations to Black Lives Matter causes.
  2. We are requiring a mandatory unconscious bias training company-wide and creating a long-term strategy for ongoing workshops.
  3. We are sharing resources and organizations to support with our team & community to learn alongside us as we take an active role in our education.  

This is just the beginning for us. In order to turn these short-term learnings into long-term solutions, we need honest and open conversations. We are creating an ongoing forum as a company to actively educate ourselves on the disproportional disadvantages that our Black community members face, and how we as a company can challenge the oppressive systems in place and help rebuild our communities.  

We are here to support our Black community – their businesses, experiences & voices. We are using our platform to fight for justice not just this week, this month or year; but until we can all wake up to a better tomorrow.  

  

With a broken and open heart, 

The Leesa team 

 

  

Here are some resources & organizations you can support. As always, we welcome all additions and ways we can improve.  

The original resource list (below) was compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein in May 2020.

Anti-Racism Resources 

Organizations to support & follow on social media:

Articles to read:

Videos to watch:

Podcasts to subscribe to:

Books to read:

Films and TV series to watch:

  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix 
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix 
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent 
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent 
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix 
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent 
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu 
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent 
  • King In The Wilderness — HBO 
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix 
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent 
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent 
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax 
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix 
  • Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am – Hulu  

More anti-racism resources to check out:

Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children:

Books: 

Podcasts: 

Articles: 

The Conscious Kid (on Instagram and consider signing up for their Patreon)