Hold up. A few thoughts before you ask another white person to speak on your panel

And here are 10 black digital creators to follow while you’re at it.

Photo by Bryan M. Jimenez

I love speaking on stage. It has been one of the most rewarding privileges of my career thus far.

Yes. It has been a privilege.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks reflecting hard on the privileged spaces in corporate America I occupy as a white woman. Spaces where because I am white and therefore comfortable, it could be easy to miss the blatant and often worse, not so blatant, signs of racial discrimination.

I’d love to sit here and write that I noticed all those signs. That I wasn’t some clueless white woman thinking it was completely normal that one time I attended an event on the “future of tech in Austin” only to look around the crowded room of budding tech startup CEOs and spot three whole black people, none of whom unsurprisingly, were slated to speak on the panel.

Truthfully, I wasn’t THAT clueless. I did notice most signs. I recall that exact event and looking over at the single black woman in attendance. She stared blankly at the white man wearing a $65 beanie at the front of the room as he professed HIS trouble securing venture capital investors and thinking, “Wow this sucks for me, but it must REALLY suck for you.” This was not an isolated incident. In this industry, events, panels, and conferences are career currency. You attend them, you strive to speak at them, you meet and network at them. And unless the event has “black” or “diversity” in the title, you see A LOT of white people at them.

I saw the signs. But that’s not the point.

I recall that exact event and looking over at the single black woman in attendance. She stared blankly at the white man wearing a $65 beanie at the front of the room as he professed HIS trouble securing venture capital investors and thinking, “Wow this sucks for me, but it must REALLY suck for you.”

Up until a few weeks ago, I would come home from an event like that and vent to my husband about yet another space completely devoid of diversity in this industry and city I love so much. He would typically reply with some snarky “white people” jab, which was undoubtedly very much deserved.

Up until a few weeks ago, instances like this annoyed me but didn’t drive me to voice my annoyance in any significant way. Taking action wasn’t on my radar.

And up until a few weeks ago, I honestly hadn’t put much thought into what speaking up would even look like. I found many of my white friends shared this similar sentiment. We all were comfortable simply being frustrated and knowing it was wrong. But that isn’t acceptable anymore. It never was.

As a white woman and speaker in digital marketing, I attend and present at a lot of conferences and events throughout the year. I am often commanding a room and positioned as an expert in my field. This is my space, my experience. THIS is also a space I occupy with a level of privilege, and therefore, a certain amount of influence and access not equally afforded to my black peers. It took this moment for me to realize just how much I’ve grossly under-utilized that privilege up until now. I mean really, am I supposed to leave the much needed speaking up and pushing back to my peers of color?

Absolutely not.

Last week I received an email asking to moderate a virtual marketing panel. Normally, this response would be a no brainer. I would gleefully reply “Yes!” and leave it at that. This time I opted for a different approach. Instead, I respectfully thanked the organizer for thinking of me but told them I would only consider moderating a panel containing equal racial representation, and if they had already secured a set of panelists of whom were not racially diverse, then I would be happy to recommend a person of color to moderated in my place. Not only is the pool of candidates plentiful, but it contains many individuals far more qualified than myself.

I’ll admit, it felt weird to propose giving up an opportunity I would normally covet. Might I lose out on future chances to speak because I opted out? Would I be deemed difficult to work with? Or perhaps more nauseating, but also probable, would I be accused of “making something too political”?

But as I more carefully examined this personal discomfort…I thought about something that made me even more uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is perhaps even too kind of a word. Disturbed. Yep, disturbed is much better. This past May I attended a world-renowned virtual social media conference featuring 269 speakers ranging from digital marketing experts to influencers, to technology evangelists and CMOs. For the sake of validating my gut feeling on these matters, I decided to count the black speakers on the agenda.

There were fifteen.

FIFTEEN.

Out of 269.

As white people both speaking on stage and sitting in the audience, we have the power to change this specific narrative. To challenge the status quo in our respective industries. My industry is full of brilliant and talented creators and experts, and one thing I know for sure is that they don’t all share my skin tone.

Pushing back to the event organizer, while initially awkward or uncomfortable, doesn’t hold a candle to the deeply unsettling and icky feeling of scrolling through yet another white-washed conference agenda. Imagine just for a moment if enough white speakers at that event had seen the lineup and spoken up, pushed back, or given up their spot? Imagine further, if attendees (particularly the white ones) requested a refund?

As white people both speaking on stage and sitting in the audience, we have the power to change this specific narrative. To challenge the status quo in our respective industries. My industry is full of brilliant and talented creators and experts, and one thing I know for sure is that they don’t all share my skin tone. Furthermore, people of color should not be brought into these opportunities simply to meet some sort of quota or share the “D&I angle” on a panel.

And while there is so much I can do with my white privilege to chip away at the current injustices, I’ve chosen to focus on the meaningful actions and behaviors I can change immediately first. This is one of them. Starting with an uncomfortable email last week and now, this article. Below are ten enormously talented and inspirational black digital creators. Some of whom I know personally or seen speak at events, and others who I‘ve followed and admired from afar over the years.

I’d encourage you if you have input into planning a work or industry event, to take a pause. Does your panel or speaker lineup reflect the true makeup of your industry? Are you adding another panelist just so you can get one person of color to even out the scales? Here’s a tip: Do better.

If you are a frequent attendee, consider what you are spending your time and money supporting. If you see a lack of diversity, it’s not because those people don’t exist, it’s because they’re not being asked or considered.

And finally, to my fellow white speakers: I hope you share my sentiment and urge to be bold and push back. To use our inherent power to influence change. To make space.

And in the meantime, give these individuals a follow.

1. Alexis Davis. A fellow Austinite and social media rockstar. She’s the owner of The Content Plug, where she delivers social media strategy and workshops for brands. Don’t miss her “Social Tip Sundays” on IG Stories.
2. Derek K. Hubbard. Social Media Manager for Southwest Airlines (NBD). He’s also the brain behind a lot of the incredible Southwest branded programming during the SXSW Interactive Conference for the last couple of years.
3. Donna Hull. Aka the Inimitable Black Woman. Donna hosts a podcast where she discusses the varied backgrounds and experiences of black women across generations. Her interviews are raw & important. She’s also a great human.
4. CJ Johnson. Someone I HAVE seen on stage, and thank goodness I did. A fellow digital marketer with a gift for storytelling and seeing trends before they are trends. Which. Is. CHIC.
5. Tisha Holman. Another person I have seen on stage. Tisha is a BOSS. She’s the CEO of Mind Your Bussiness LLC, and leads a signature event (now virtual!) entitled, “Monetize Your Social Media”. Oh, she also wrote a few books, so there’s that.
6. Georgina Whalen. A digital content creator and influencer who really GETS influencer marketing. Her brand partnerships are smart and intentional and she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Which we love!
7. Tamon George. A dynamic creative marketer and co-founder of Creative Theory, a digital agency based out of Washington DC. Not only is Tamon’s content GORGEOUS, but it’s also thought-provoking and impactful. His company focuses on telling stories of inclusiveness and pushing brands to push themselves forward.
8. Alex Batdorf. I met Alex years ago when she was the CMO and co-founder of a wearable tech startup in Chicago. She’s since broken out on her own and founded Get Sh!t Done helping other women entrepreneurs increase their marketing knowledge and scale their business.
9. Christina Roach. The Digital Content Officer for the City of Dallas. She was recently interviewed on a podcast and shared her perspective on being in a government communications role in the current climate.
10. And finally, EVERYONE at Gumbo Media. I remember when my husband’s roommate first told us about this media company he was getting involved with: a group of content curators focused on elevating black creators and storytellers. Enter: Gumbo Media. They just released their first print product, Gumbo Magazine, Issue 001: Black. It’s beautiful and currently taking up residence on our coffee table.

Who would you like to see on stage? On a panel? Comment below with your additions!