A community coalition for change!
SheaMoisture, a global beauty leader, announced the Advisory Council to its Social Justice Coalition, which launched in June 2020. The coalition will serve as an investment fund and advocacy campaign dedicated to supporting Black women-led community activists and social entrepreneurs according to the press release. The funding is backed by SheaMoisture’s $1 million Community Commerce Fund.
“Reinvesting in our own communities has always been our driving force,” Cara Sabin, CEO of Sundial Brands said on their website. “Now more than ever, it’s imperative for us to commit resources toward driving progress and address the traumas and injustices we face.”
The coalition was organized in the wake of racial unrest due to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT shot in killed by the Louisville Metro Police Department while she and her boyfriend slept. Since the officers responsible haven’t been brought to justice, Breonna Taylor’s name has become a rallying cry and reminder that Black women have been unprotected and oft-forgotten in the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Black women continue to lead movements advocating for justice and equity for their communities, however, the Black woman is not always as successful at garnering the same level of support for her own needs,” Simone Jordan, Head of Community Commerce at SheaMoisture said. “The SJC aims to not just protect Black women and their families, but provides critical infrastructure, funding, and support to amplify the work and impact she has in all of our communities.”
The Social Justice Coalition includes nationally recognized thought leaders and activists committed to protecting and supporting Black women including Planned Parenthood President & CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, Black Futures Lab Principal Alicia Garza, Backstage Capital Founder & Managing Partner Arlan Hamilton, Professor and Author Ilyasah Shabazz, Wake Forest Professor Dr. Melissa Harris-Perry, University of Southern California Provost Professor Dr. Shaun Harper, Until Freedom Co-Founder Tamika D. Mallory and the NAACP’s Director of Youth and College Division Tiffany Dena Loftin.
“It is important that the Advisory Council for the Social Justice Coalition is overwhelmingly made up of Black women. Black women are often overlooked in politics and yet remain the most civically engaged and loyal electorate the country has to offer,” Sabin said. “SheaMoisture has always been committed to supporting Black women entrepreneurs by developing meaningful relationships, substantive partnerships, and programs with those in our community, in order to provide long-term solutions with sustainable impact. As we expand to amplify social justice advocacy as a cornerstone of the SheaMoisture brand, Black women must be at the helm of this most important work.”
The coalition will address five key issues impacting Black women, which were selected based on community recommendations: police reform, healthcare access, voting rights, economic justice, and educational equity. The council believes this is a time to create lasting change for the movement.
“For those legitimately committed to the importance of Black life, this moment bears a special responsibility to support the people in our communities working to enact substantive and sustaining change,” Harris-Perry said. “I am excited to be part of SheaMoisture’s ongoing commitment to Black communities with a unique and powerful opportunity to support life-changing mentoring for entrepreneurial activists.”
The SheaMoisture Social Justice Coalition will continue its aim of protecting and investing in Black women through a digital advocacy campaign set to launch in September 2020 and run through 2021. The application to join the Social Justice Coalition opened on August 24 and closes on September 13. Proposals can be submitted at www.sheamoisturefund.com