The outcry and action in the wake of the murder of George Floyd has been intense, emotional, personal, painful, necessary, and overdue. 

And it's producing a lot of content. (It's producing a lot of everything, but I'm staying in my lane here.)

Much of it has been beautiful, thoughtful, uncomfortable content that has helped open my mind (especially to the ways my "open mind" was not as open as I imagined.) 

And some content that came from brands and companies was just...off. 

But I'm not here to point fingers or do a post-game critique. I understand where some of the "off" stuff comes from: a desire to say something, to show support, to share the outrage, to not stay silent. 

The urgency can be palpable and if you haven't had to think through what your stance on social or political matters is as a business, you make in-the-moment, reactionary decisions. Some of them will be great. Others might not be.  

So, if you can take a pause, consider:

• Making Conscious Choices
  about how your business engages with events of the world, what you believe in, what and who you stand up for. 
  
  For me: I deeply value words. I have no desire to add to noise. And I am, at my core, someone who is here to allow expression, both my own and that of others.
  
  At this moment, it was the messages of others that mattered. Like this conversation on race from Counterfeit Madison. EDIT: And this follow up.
   

• Avoiding the Bandwagon
  that chases the hot hashtag or issues generic statements of support without substantive action. This piece by Holiday Phillips on “performative alleyship” is a wonderful guide.
  
  It's led me to seek out a whole host of new sources of information, organizations I can support monetarily, and ways I can remain in the conversation. 
   

• Expanding Your Shares and Your Visuals
  to reflect that the world of ideas is much bigger than our own personal worlds.
  
  As a middle-aged white woman, I love a Brene Brown quote, but there are so many more voices to raise. The same concept applies to stock photos if you use them. Who's in them?
  
  So I stopped to check if I was walking my talk. My photos? Nope. That didn’t surprise me, as I was pulling from a limited bank.
  
  Then I dove into my “Friday Inspiration” quotes on the 4.23 Facebook page. Of the 138 used or queued, only 32 feature BIPOC speakers. Just 23 percent. I need to do better. I thought I was doing better, but the count is the count.  

We won't always get it right. But we can always try again.