Spotlight: Black Girl Hockey Club’s “Get Uncomfortable” Campaign
Yesterday, the Black Girl Hockey Club unveiled the Get Uncomfortable advocacy campaign. The campaign invites fans, players, coaches, executives, parents, and other members of the hockey community to take a pledge to actively disrupt racism on and off the ice.
Today, #BGHC is launching the our advocacy campaign! You can sign the Get Uncomfortable Pledge and check out campaign details on our website. Use the hashtag #getuncomfortable for a RT and share the pledge with your friends, family and hockey pals today! https://t.co/MoUMlp4m21
— Black Girl Hockey Club (@BlackGirlHockey) September 23, 2020
“We welcome collaboration with any interested stakeholder and strongly invite allies to join us, as we cannot continue to bear the burden of disrupting racism alone. However, this Campaign is committed to centering Black women, women of color, BIPOC communities, and all others who are impacted by prejudice and injustice both inside and outside of hockey.”
For those who aren’t aware, Black Girl Hockey Club is a nonprofit organization that has been on the frontlines of educating the hockey community about inclusion and antiracism. BGHC is dedicated to inspiring and sustaining passion for hockey in the Black community and making the sport a safer place for people regardless of their race, gender, sexuality or ability in the face of institutional racism, financial gatekeeping and program access.
In other words, BGHC, led by Renee Hess, is a lighthouse shedding light on a brighter future for the sport wherein hockey is truly for everyone. In a recent interview with the New York Times, Hess shared the story of BGHC and reflected on what it has become over the last two years.
“Now,” she said, “it’s more than just a fan club. We’ve been able to have an impact on the hockey community because we’ve learned we’re stronger together. We’re trying to gather enough voices so we can be loud enough to be heard, and focus on initiatives to advance social change.”
Those who take the BGHC’s pledge are making a commitment to encouraging the hockey community to be a welcoming space for Black girls and all BIPOC communities, employing and recruiting BIPOC applicants to diversify hockey at every level, and the education of the hockey community in social justice, allyship, and antiracism.
For many, this can be an uncomfortable topic that challenges perspectives with deep roots — hence the name of the campaign. But progress and growth are rarely easy and we at Blueshirt Banter believe that the hockey community needs this. Let’s get uncomfortable, together.