Over the last few weeks we’ve been so hurt by the murder of George Floyd as a result of systemic racism that we really didn’t feel it was the time to post content surrounding our thought and feelings as it may distract from more important messages on racism, police brutality and inequality. We hope you have listened, taken part in the important conversations about racism and taken action in learning and supporting the eradication of racism from our society.

As a black female founder we are proud to hire and work with individuals across all ethnicities, religions and gender identities. My Product Model was founded on the principles that diversity is beautiful and inclusion strengthens brands. My Product Model began out of the desire tp bring change to the status quo that exists between emerging brands, e-commerce and the “front of camera” talent representing those companies.

When I started modeling there were many occassions when I was the only black model and the only person of color on the entire set. This always bothered me. As technology evolved and digital-first became a standard for doing business, I felt that it was time to take bigger strides towards providing an equitable platform for models and creatives of color while influencing change among brands. The internet and technology can be great equalizers in so many ways but still we have miles to go before we sleep.

While on the surface our work looks glamorous and fun, we work with companies to help them build better brands to deliver more value to customers. More times than not, that includes helping our clients understand why they must include black models and models of color in their content strategy, across all of their websites and social media channels.

We hope we can influence you too. Whether you’ve worked with us or you’re finding us for the first time, we’ve put together some resources to help our community get informed and involved.

EDUCATION

Read

• Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins

• Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Dr. Brittney Cooper

• Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

• Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

• Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Listen

• 1619 (The New York Times)
• About Race
• Code Switch (NPR)
• Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
• Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
• Seeing White

Watch

• 13th (Ava DuVernay) Netflix
• American Son (Kenny Leon) Netflix
• I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) Amazon Prime
• If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) Hulu
• Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton)
• King In The Wilderness HBO
• See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) Netflix
• Selma (Ava DuVernay)
• The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) Hulu
• When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) Netflix
• Dear White People (Justin Simien) Netflix

ACTION

Donate

• National Bail Fund Network
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund
• Color Of Change
• Campaign Zero
• Advancement Project
• Girls Be Heard
• Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
• I Run With Maud

Sign

• Phone numbers to demand justice for Breonna Taylor
• Sign the #JusticeForBre Petition for Breonna Taylor
• Sign the Justice for Big Floyd Petition.

• "FLOYD" to 55156 or sign the petition through Color of Change

• Color of Change also has a petition for Breonna Taylor

• Change.org has many petitions, including:
  • Raise the Degree
  • Justice for George Floyd
  • Disbarment of George E. Barnhill, a prosecutor on the Ahmaud Arbery case

  • Black Lives Matter lists additional petitions to sign

Text

• "FLOYD" to 55156
• "JUSTICE" to 668366
• "ENOUGH" to 55156
• "RESIST" to 55156