This year, the global pandemic exposed inequalities, injustices and class systems in the U.S., evidenced with dynamics between workers privileged to continue their employment from home versus essential workers that had to leave their homes to work despite rising coronavirus cases in the U.S. and others that lost their jobs because of lockdowns.
“I think we are only at the beginning of the path that is a long one,” Jean said. The designer, who hails from Italy, added that the BLM movement increased the conversation abroad and that those companies that fail “to take an antiracist public stance has implications on brand image.” One issue that arises with lumping Black creatives together is that industry gatekeepers will select one talent to promote on a mainstream platform, and in that, celebrating one is considered like celebrating all. Except that has never been the case. This is also apparent in companies where there is a lack of diversity. The Black employee represents an entire global community despite their unique experiences as an individual.
“For decades, Black culture had been sampled without citation,” Jean said. She said designers often reduce the entire continent of Africa to a few ideas lumped together and not highlighted properly.