THREE SIMPLE WORDS WITH A LOT OF POWER.

Now, we join that powerful chorus in demanding change.

We at Tilted Chair acknowledge the social injustice that has pervaded American society since its inception. We’ll spare the world another lamentation—the pain non-Black people feel at realizing racial injustice is still very much an issue pales in comparison to the pain of living that reality every day. Quite frankly, this moment isn’t about us, or our pain.

In the interest of avoiding “woke washing” or performative allyship, our team chose to act before speaking. The preceding months have been filled with introspection, discussion, education, and brainstorming. Our goal? To arrive at effective and sustainable solutions that we can commit to publicly. Systemic racism won’t be dismantled with just a hashtag and a couple months of activism, but through the diligent efforts of conscientious and well-meaning humans who hold themselves and others accountable.

Our commitments are as follows:

• Financial Support: We’ve made charitable contributions to Campaign Zero, Mapping Police Violence, NAACP, and UNCF. We intend to continue our support, and encourage others to do the same.
• Correcting for Implicit Bias in Hiring: While the current version of Tilted Chair is small, we have bigger aspirations—you can bet Black perspectives are part of those plans. We’re working as a partnership to correct for any implicit biases in our hiring process, and to make proactively reaching out to Black communities like Where are the Black designers? a part of our hiring process going forward.
• Donating Services to Communities in Need: We intend to start our efforts at home in East Austin, investing time and resources in the historically underserved community here. We’re donating services in-kind to local non-profits like LifeWorks to augment the effectiveness of their efforts so they can better serve the those experiencing homelessness in our community, which disproportionately affects POC.
• Marketing Mentorship: Additionally, we’re working to set up a mentorship/apprenticeship program for underserved schools in the area with the goal of expanding access to and interest in this business among minority communities—schools like LBJ, Northeast Austin High School, and Martin Middle School.

This list isn’t exhaustive, nor is it finished. Rather, it represents our long-term commitment to doing our part to address inequities in our community and industry. The time for passivity is over. It’s time for action. If we all decide to take it, together, we can change the world.

-TC