U.S : It's time for the fashion industry to #BreakSilenceBreakCeilings.

Kibwe Chase-Marshall just started a petition to the Council of  Fashion Designers in America and Vogue to #BreakSilenceBreakCeilings: End Employment  Discrimination Against Black Designers Sign now

Dear friend, I just started a petition titled "#BreakSilenceBreakCeilings: End Employment Discrimination Against Black Designers" Black designers continue to face systemic employment discrimination within the mainstream fashion industry. This renders them generally incapable of landing upper management and executive roles, and—as evidenced by H&M’s “Coolest Monkey in The Jungle” hoodie photographed on a young Black boy—often allows for the irresponsible dissemination of insensitive, insulting, and exploitative depictions of Blackness within advertising. I recently launched a social media campaign, #breaksilencebreakceilings to address just these issues. Attention around the campaign, resulted in me publishing a game-changing op-ed “Why Aren’t There More Black Designers”, last week in the Business of Fashion. Not content with merely listing complaints throughout the piece, I delivered actionable steps toward dynamic change, charging the Council of Fashion Designers of America and American Vogue to partner on initiating a 3-pronged plan to engage the fashion design and recruitment communities in greater transparency and more equitable hiring practices. Join us if you believe relying on racism in fashion should be addressed before another racist campaign is produced. The proposed initiative aims to reform an industry that has normalized the exclusion of Black professionals. Design and recruitment industry participants would be availed of comprehensive bias mitigation training and hiring-practice audits. Will you sign the petition and forward this email to make sure your voice is heard? Add your name here. By signing this petition, you will amplify this call-to-action directed at the CFDA and Vogue, organizations that have a responsibility to no longer turn a blind eye to the fashion industry's marginalization of Black talent. Collectively, our signatures will #breaksilencebreakceilings, declaring that time's up for employment discrimination against Black designers. It's time to take the racism out of fashion, tell the Council of Fashion Designers America and Vogue to stop combat anti-Blackness in fashion. Thank you, Kibwe Chase-Marshall Sign now

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