Allanah Hines
As a founding member of the Alliance:
I am not, intentionally, a civil rights leader. I am not an alarmist or a fire starter. I am also not sitting on the sidelines any longer, without boundaries that protect me, as I stand still without calling for action. I am not outside of this movement. I am not nameless or faceless in this moment in time.
I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a coworker, and a confidante, amongst other things. I am one of a kind but not the only one of my kind. I am immediately affected by every action – past, present, and future – of oppression put upon generations of my Black ancestry. I am your friend, your neighbor, your coworker, your teacher, and the person in the crowd that demands respect.
I am not the typical example of the outspoken on this subject. I am not who you would assume to be enraged by the awareness of my surroundings. I am not oblivious of my privilege. I am not unaware of my position and the spaces of which I am present.
I am the story of success beyond the oppressive weight of the system. I am unassuming in my approachable smiling, sharing comfortable spaces, and diversifying the crowd. I am grateful for my power.
I am here as the fourth voice. There was silence after one. There was silence after two. There was silence after three. I am here because it took to four for action.
You may not know me for my tears, my stress, or my anger. You may not know me as the overcomer or the one off in the distance. You may not know me as the one that commits to being defeated multiple times before a success is felt – not for lack of trying but, instead, for being overlooked by the ones in charge.
You know me from my laughter and my smile. You know me for my hard work and dedication. You know me for my attention to detail and commitment to the team. You know me – for loyalty and respect come with my presence.
I search for no accolades or recognition. I do not seek for my name on a scroll of time. My hope relies on my fears and woes never being felt by another Black person in history. I hope my fears of walking outside in peace, expressing myself in peace, enjoying my life in peace will no longer be the conceived threat to another. I hope that I become a drop in a bucket that continues to fill with likeminded individuals and movements no longer sabotaged with bullet holes of manipulations to drain it of potential. I hope that, not again, will this racial trauma be experienced by another Black body.
This is who I am.
Portia Hackett
Why did I join the Alliance? My son. Period. I refuse to live in a world where I have done nothing to create a better future for my son. My son does not need to experience the same pain and have the same scars. I hope and work towards a better world for him.
In June 2020, our company had a memorial for George Floyd where I volunteered to speak. I had never been more vulnerable around my coworkers in my life. I spoke my truth about being not just a black woman but as a mother. After the speech, the silence felt heavy and was so loud it screamed. There was no follow up, no response.It felt unfinished. It was as if the call for action and justice had a question mark at the end. It bothered me for days until some of my co-workers had posted responses on our internal communications and the idea for the alliance arose. An opportunity to turn words into actions and I wasn’t sure exactly how at the time but I had something to offer this group.
What is important isn’t my face or even my name. Don’t meet the alliance, meet what we do and why we do it. The E.Q.U.I.T.Y. Alliance formed to change our company and how we interact with our community. Our co-op should be a reflection of all the people in our community. Everyone should see themselves reflected in the products on the shelf, the community outreach and even the people in the store at every level. So, what does our group do?
Our group works from within the company with all departments to ensure diversity and equity is the foundation of everything that we do. We created the product line Game Changers to focus on underrepresented businesses that continue to break through disadvantageous barriers. We expanded our outreach to include BIPOC focused non-profits. We helped create DEI training for management and our employees. What we do is about the impact and our mission has no end. Our group has no end statement because we challenge ourselves and everyone else to grow and learn with us because that is the only way our world can change. We change by starting with supporting our diverse community both inside the store and out.
Breana Staley
I am Breana. I am a daughter, a big sister, a loving partner, a caring friend, a co-worker, an accomplice, a shoulder to lean on, a foodie, a true crime enthusiast, a learner, and a warm smile at the coffee bar.
I choose to be a founding member of the E.Q.U.I.T.Y Alliance, I choose to be an active listener, an active participant in the fight for justice and equality. I choose to show up and to continue to show up. I choose to work hard and be dependable. I choose to be a Black voice surrounded by White voices.
My hope is that we can come to together as one diverse and inclusive community. To teach and learn from one another, to recognize our privileges, and to use our privileges to help those who may not have a voice. I hope we can be an active listener for one another. To understand that we are all human and we all have value. Weaver Street is here to continue to exemplify our commitment to our growing community. That we are here to not to only provide a service but to also make a stand to against injustices because it is just the fair and right action to take.
Jameson Fuller
Hi, I’m Jameson Fuller, nice to meet you! I’m an employee at the Carrboro Weaver Street, entering my 7th year at the co-op and 1 whole year of being at the Carrboro store. I work in the produce department as a Specialist and helping out where I’m needed. On top of all of that, I became a founding member of the E.Q.U.I.T.Y. Alliance with my 3 like-minded co-members consisting of Allanah Hines, Breana Staley, and Portia Hackett.
We are 4 Black employees that came together after the unjust murders of George Floyd, Breana Taylor and countless other unarmed Black people at the hands of the Police. We want better representation of the Black community that surrounds our stores with hopes of true equity, diversity and inclusion being ingrained within every facet of our operations. That’s from the products that you see on the shelves that are overwhelmingly produced by White owned companies. An eventual increase of BIPOC employees and their promotions to management positions. Making their voices heard and taken seriously. Improve the outreach in BIPOC communities through different endeavors and partnerships. And also change the overall perception of Weaver Street for BIPOC customers as a place that they will feel comfortable shopping in because of unbiased and welcoming customer service and products that not only represent them, but are also great additions to other communities because of how great the products are.
While trying our absolute hardest to make these changes, the pressure of implementing diversity is heavy as it tends to fall on us, but making sure that we are not tokenized is something that we will not allow regardless of Weaver Street’s best intentions. Part of this journey is to educate our Anti-Racist allies in training and for them to unlearn past habits that may have marginalized certain people and we owe it to those people to hold everyone accountable. All of this is bigger than myself or even the collective efforts of E.Q.U.I.T.Y. Alliance. I can’t speak for them, but I would like to believe that all of us are trying to leave a lasting impact that will continue to grow after we’re gone while still challenging those in charge in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion, no matter how big or small the issue is.