E-Commerce Site Etsy ‘in Solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter’

The CEO of the popular craft and vintage e-commerce website Etsy released an announcement Monday stating the company is “in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter” as violent rioters and looters rage across the United States following the death of George Floyd.

Addressing his “community” of craftspeople and customers, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said the events of “the past days and weeks have, once again, shone a spotlight on the tremendous injustices in our society.”

Etsy is built on a belief that communities have the power to change the status quo. To support organizations working tirelessly for criminal justice reform, we're donating $1 million to @eji_org and @BorealisPhil. Read more: https://t.co/k31dDTuxMt #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/FnyhS1YQLT

— Etsy (@Etsy) June 1, 2020

“We stand in solidarity with our employees and communities who are voicing their anguish, anger, and deep frustration with systems that oppress and devalue Black lives,” he stated, announcing Etsy would be donating $1 million to “justice reform and black-led institutions.”

“Allyship with Black communities is as much a moral imperative as a requirement of our business,” Silverman continued, adding:

We can’t fight for small businesses, if we don’t also fight for the empowerment of Black business owners.
We can’t hire and care for our Black employees, if we don’t also protect Black lives everywhere.
We can’t be there for women employees, if we aren’t also standing up specifically for Black women.
We can’t advocate for parents, if we aren’t standing with Black mothers and fathers who fear for their Black childrens’ lives.

Silverman said the $1 million donation would be split evenly between the Equal Justice Initiative and the Borealis Philanthropy’s Black-Led Movement Fund.

“Black Lives Matter is the civil rights movement of our time, because it addresses a fundamental inequality in our society: that Black lives are too often undervalued,” Silverman said. “This notion inspired Etsy’s own internal commitments from diversity and inclusion to economic empowerment.”