Black Lives Matter has
earned a solid momentum after the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd. Many
companies have taken a clear stand by making immediate changes in their
policies, but some of them have only given a half-hearted statement with no
crux or genuineness to it. Amidst this, an unlikely ally has revealed itself.
Babynames.com has made
a powerful but subtle statement by posting a list of black people who were
either the victim of police brutality or lost their lives to another cause.
Along with the names, they put a note saying, “Each one of these names was somebody’s
baby.” At the end of the page, they’ve given a short and precise message:
“Babynames.com stands in solidarity with the black community.#blacklivesmatter”
But do you see the
impact of this brief stand? When major companies are exhibiting problematic
behavior during this critical movement, a website that gives meanings and ideas
for baby names is making such a bold and moving statement. It didn’t try to
picture itself as an iconic brand or woke website, which is a problem that many
white allies have. They try to make the movement all about themselves by
preaching how supportive and good they are.
Soon after the website
posted this message on its homepage, it went viral. The site was flooded with
thousands of visitors.
Even Twitter
account of this website urged people to support the cause of #BlackLivesMatter
by donating.
The founder Jennifer
Moss said on Twitter that “BabyNames.com
is a family-owned [and] operated company. We take family very seriously. Our
server is doing its best under the heavy load. THANK YOU so much for the
mentions. We love you. <3”
In an email to Mashable, Moss said: “BabyNames.com is a family-owned and operated company and this
issue is important to us. We had been trying to devise a statement in support
of the BLM movement and when I saw the list of names on NPR I was heartbroken.
We wanted to show they weren’t just names, they were somebody’s loved ones. The
list is growing as people are sending in additions. We are grateful and humbled
to have helped further the conversation about systemic racism and violence in
this country.”
When the nation rots and the leaders simply whine and
crab, people have to take control. This is exactly why the black community and
anti-racist said it’s enough. They took over the streets to protest against
violence against the black community. It’s truly a revolution coming in!