As a society, what we are experiencing today has been a long time coming. A time for reckoning, reflection and reexamination of the status quo. 

Like all of you, we are sickened by the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of 4 Minneapolis Police officers, people who were sworn to serve and protect. His death is a devastating reflection of the lived reality our Black community has faced for decades on end.

Today – and every day moving forward – we want to be clear that Linqia wholeheartedly denounces any form of violence, racism or discrimination against ANY group of people. One of our company’s core values is Be Human. And as humans, we all have an unalienable right to freedom, equality and justice. That goes for every one of us here at Linqia, the brand & influencer communities we work with on a daily basis, the broader communities in which we live, and the world population at large.

As purveyors of culture, social discourse, and social media comes great responsibility to listen and lead social conversations that enact change. Our influencers are the faces of the brands we serve, and we must ensure we are doing our part to showcase the same diversity that is present in this great country, yet seldom represented.  

It is core to our mission to take intentional action that contributes to a culture of advocacy, inclusion and amplification of Black voices, Black creators and the Black community. Here are a few ways we’re choosing to stand in solidarity with our Black community and all marginalized groups to take a more intentional approach at creating a world view that better reflects ALL members of our community:

• Look Inside – we firmly believe that to create impact, there needs to be a commitment to change internally. To this end, we’re implementing a number of activities including a Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce. This new group of Linqia employees will institute proactive processes, procedures and policies aimed at sourcing, hiring and promoting Black and other minority professionals, as well as instituting formal training and  education to reduce racial bias across our teams.
• Influencer Diversification – we will develop new tactics, techniques and technologies to make sure that we first have a wider range of Black and other minority content creators in our influencer selection tool. Secondly, as we partner with brands to develop each campaign, we will educate and counsel the absolute need for multicultural creator diversity. 
• Local Impact – as a member of the San Francisco Bay Area community we have always been committed to giving back to our neighbors. But we want to take it a step further and intentionally channel our time, effort & dollars towards organizations that specifically address the needs and support of the local Black and minority communities.
• Giving Back – to focus our collective ability to better support the Black Lives Matter movement, Linqia will be matching employee donations to any organization that is helping to mobilize action for and in support of the Black community effective immediately. Here’s a list of organizations we’re looking to support. 

We are committed to doing the work now, and for the long haul, until our mission becomes a global reality.

Nader Alizadeh & Maria Sipka, Linqia Co-Founders