Dear friend,

This last week has made me realize many things about myself and my intentions, one of which was the complete lack of diversity I was showing on an Instagram feed that I had intended to be diverse.

Before Craft & Cluster was an official photography and social media consulting business, I used the Instagram largely as a place to share the stories of women winemakers.

This was in an effort to bring recognition to women in wine and give them a slightly larger platform.
 

It was always my intention to reach out to and feature more Black Women, Indigenous Women, and Women of Color on my feed but intention is not the same as action. 

I didn't put in the work to find these women, and that's not okay.

This week, Justin Trabue and Simonne Mitchelson, two Black Women in Wine I have come to know in the last few months, submitted an open letter to the wine industry at large.

(CLICK HERE TO READ)  

In it, they shared some alarming statistics about diversity the wine industry:

"Out of 3,700+ wineries in the state of California, only 4% are female-owned. We could not find what percent of that 4% are Black/People of Color (POC) females, but we presume it would be an upsetting fraction of that fraction." -Justin & Simonne

I have always known that representation of women in the wine industry was miniscule but I had never considered that the representation of BIPOC women would be so small that statistics couldn't even be found.

So, what can we do about this?

There are many ways to contribute to this fight; here are a few:

1. I highly recommend making a monetary contribution (if you can) to R.A.C.E. Matters, the organization in San Luis Obispo, California that "actively spotlights Black people and people of color in various industries throughout San Luis Obispo including the arts, academics, and music."

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO R.A.C.E. MATTERS

2. Amplify the voices of Black women and women of color by sharing their posts on social media and telling their stories.  I will be featuring both Justin and Simonne (and more amazing women in wine!) on social media, in my blog, and in these emails to you; stay tuned for those.

3. Vote with your dollars! Make it a point to purchase from Black-owned and -operated businesses where you can.