A Letter of Reflection
Here at Aveda Institute Portland, we pride ourselves on our dedication to education. At this time it is clear that we have a lot to learn and are committed to that fight. There has been a need for change in the beauty industry standards to be more inclusive and now more than ever, we see that. Since the beginning of 2020 we have been working diligently with our partners to bring a comprehensive textured hair curriculum to our students. As we work hard in the background to train our staff and prepare to launch this updated curriculum, we want to spend our time on the foreground educating ourselves and our students to nurture an inclusive environment.
At the end of the day, every single student deserves a quality education that resonates with and includes them. Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in and although that care has always been in our hearts at Aveda Institute Portland, we know that we need to do more. The first step is admitting what you don’t know and what mistakes you may have made, the next step is doing something about it. We commit ourselves to listening to black voices, we commit ourselves to learning how we can be better and most of all, we commit ourselves to participating in positive change.
We look forward to learning beside you. Here are some ways to get started:
Donations
Black Live Matter - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund - https://www.naacpldf.org/
Know Your Rights Camp - https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/
National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network - https://www.nqttcn.com/
Don’t Shoot PDX - https://www.dontshootpdx.org/
Local POC Businesses
Portland
Kee’s Loaded Kitchen
Trap Kitchen
Queen of Sheba Restaurant
Deadstock Coffee Roasters
EcoVibe Style
Vancouver
Goldie’s BBQ
Fort Bayou BBQ
Bloom Beauty Collective
The James Jewelry
Watch
13th - Netflix
Time: The Kalief Browder Story - Netflix
The Life and Death of Marsha P Johnson - Netflix
The Black Power Mixtape – Amazon Video
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker - Netflix
Joe Rogan Experience #1419 - Daryl Davis - YouTube
Just Mercy - Amazon Video
When They See Us - Netflix
Read
Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America by Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J DiAngelo
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Art & Music
Charles Bradley - Why Is It So Hard (Live on KEXP)
Blood Orange - Charcoal Baby
Brittany Howard - Stay High
This is an ongoing list of resources, if you have an additional suggestion please email [email protected]
