5 In 5: Racism Redefined, Babynames.com, OKCupid, Juneteenth, Ben & Jerry’s

Each week, Padilla’s Insights + Strategy team stands at the intersection of people, culture and brands to bring you five stories that you can read in five minutes.

1. Racism redefined  

A Missouri native has prompted Merriam-Webster dictionary to redefine their meaning of ‘racism’, which currently only defines it as disliking someone because of their race. Why should you care? The revision comes amid the rise of #BlackLivesMatter protests and will now include the systemic oppression that goes hand-in-hand with racism. [AP News]

2. Babynames.com

Babynames.com changed its home page to honor slain Black Americans with the message, “They were somebody’s baby.” Why should you care? As brands continue to roll out their support for the Black Lives Matter movement, few are getting it right, but Babynames.com is one of the few. By replacing their normal content of highly ranked baby names with more than 100 names of black lives that were lost at the hands of police brutality, they made a connection and statement that is hard to ignore. [The Hill]

3. OKCupid

OKCupid has given users the option to add Black Lives Matter badges onto their profiles to show their solidarity with the movement. Why should you care? Additionally, they’ve donated $50,000 to the ACLU and other organizations in support of BLM and for ongoing purposes, have added profile matching questions about racial inequality. In short, this is great because no one should date a racist, but also a way that a brand has “pulled up” and shown how they can begin to foster anti-racism in their company values and culture. [Mashable]

4. Juneteenth

Nike, Twitter, Square and Vox Media have all declared moving forward they will recognize Juneteenth as an annual paid holiday. Why should you care? Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. and as the Black Lives Matter movement has finally gained traction worldwide, so has the idea that we need to better celebrate and give recognition to Black history and culture. [Newsweek]

5. Ben & Jerry’s

Despite being an ice cream company, there was no sugarcoating in Ben & Jerry’s response to BLM with a simple and to-the-point statement, they called on the world to dismantle white supremacy. Why should you care? Far from the normal blanket statements we’re used to reading from big brands, it was refreshing to see a company use its platform to call it out exactly as it is. Furthermore, instead of reverting back to business as usual on their social channels, they’ve continued sharing history lessons on reparations, Jim Crow and informing followers on how they can join the movement. [Delish]

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