Black Lives Matter

Privilege.
Diversity.
Equity.
Inclusion.

If you are subscribed to the XO, MU newsletter, you’ve probably already got some idea about why I’m invested in understanding and working through this language.

Even if you’re not my subscriber or follower, you’re still living in our world right now. It’s impossible to ignore current events, and you are likely sad, angry, or fearful. You may be hearing a lot about these words—in the media, from accounts you follow, and from businesses you patronize—and are confused about what’s causing all the current tension around them.

So let’s not talk about them just yet.

Let’s talk about kindness. Empathy. Humanity. Justice. These aren’t scary. These are all general principles of being a Good Human. Be fair to others. Try to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Take into account others’ feelings before you speak or act. Make people in your community feel safe, wanted, and welcomed.

Honestly, though, these two conversations are one and the same. When I talk about my privilege, what I’m really saying is, “I’m examining how my life works and asking people who aren’t like me how their life works, so I can understand the system we all live in, and use what I have been given to help others.”

When I talk about diversity, what I’m saying is, “There are so many interesting people with very different lives from mine whom I could learn from and enjoy. I’d like to fill my circles with more of those people, and I’d like to see if they find it valuable to include me in theirs.”

When I talk about inclusion, what I’m saying is, “I have designed my space so my guests feel welcomed, respected, valued, and included. I don’t want anyone to be left out.”

Stripping away what you think you know about these words—privilege, diversity, inclusion—what it’s really about for me is being a better person, and a better leader in this community. The Whole30 community, this newsletter, my Instagram feed—this is all my house. And I REALLY want to be a good host.

You can read more about my relationship to those other words by clicking this link.

And now, I need to say something important in this moment.

Over the weekend, Whole30 shared our response to recent cultural events, including the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade.

And today, we are muting our social content and using our feeds in order to amplify the voices of Black organizers, leaders.

These actions have received a lot of support from our community. We also got a lot of questions about all of those words up there. Some comments reminded us to stay in our lane, others were mad because “they’re just here for the recipes.” Even more commenters were outright angry at us for “getting political.”

It’s not important to me to defend our decisions to folks who would never support us anyway. But to you, who has allowed Whole30 into your home and heart, it’s incredibly important for me to extend my gratitude for your support by being clear:

When I started Whole30, I made a commitment to providing people with tools and resources they could use to live happier, healthier, more rewarding lives. When I give you free advice on changing your health, habits, and relationship with food, I’m advocating for YOU. I will always advocate for you; that is my business, and also my purpose in this world. Today I am advocating for George, Breonna, Ahmaud, and Tony.

This work is vitally important.

People have told us, “Stay in your lane.” Committing to change, advocating for our community, and making sure ALL of our people feel heard, seen, supported, and safe... this is exactly our lane. And though we haven’t always gotten this work right, we are actively committed to learning more, sharing what we have learned, and doing meaningful work in this space.

Hear me clearly: Whole30 is committed to advocating for racial justice and the end of oppressive systems that disproportionately affect Black and indigenous people and people of color in the United States. This is an ongoing priority that we pursue collectively with our Whole30 HQ employees, Whole Mamas Club team, Whole30 Certified Coaches, Whole30 Approved partners, and Whole30 community.

This is our lane. And if you truly want others to experience the benefits of the Whole30 just like you have, you’ll stand in this lane with us. I cannot advocate for you without advocating for them.

If, like me and the Whole30 HQ team, you are willing and eager to do more, to be better neighbors, to be unafraid of language, and willing to use it to ask necessary questions of our systems, our privilege, and where we can do more … we urge you to learn about our efforts in our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement.

Finally, consider learning from and/or donating to the following organizations:

XO Melissa