For a long time, we’ve heard the old saying.
“Hockey is for everyone”.
Like a lot of people, Black Girl Hockey Club has had enough of hearing that hockey is for everyone, and they want to see more people actually taking the sometimes uncomfortable steps towards making hockey a safe and enjoyable environment for people of all skin colours, genders, and sexual orientations.
For way too long, the onus has been on the victims of racism to disrupt racist and unjust actions and comments. Now, it’s time for people with the privilege to do so to step up and be allies.
At the height of the civil unrest in North America as a result of systemic racism and police brutality these past few months, a lot of people and corporations have talked a big game.It's time to put those words to action.
Black Girl Hockey Club wants to see people involved in hockey at all levels of the game step up to help dismantle and disrupt the racism embedded in the sports’ culture, and they’ve created the ‘Get Uncomfortable’ pledge.
BGHC prefaces the pledge with this statement:
The Black Girl Hockey Club is bringing together BIPOC players, fans, media members, executives, sponsors, allies and other stakeholders to explore the necessary steps the sport must take to disrupt racism on and off the ice and make hockey welcoming for EVERYONE.
The Get Uncomfortable Campaign is developing a comprehensive set of recommendations on how all entities involved in hockey, at all levels, can meaningfully contribute to the movement against discrimination and oppression of BIPOC communities in society.
We welcome collaboration with any interested stakeholder and strongly invite allies to join us, as we cannot continue to bear the burden of disrupting racism alone. However, this Campaign is committed to centering Black women, women of color, BIPOC communities, and all others who are impacted by prejudice and injustice both inside and outside of hockey.
Undoubtedly these conversations are difficult, as they can challenge one’s perspectives and approach to our roles in hockey and society at large. But progress is rarely easy, and often requires being open minded and vulnerable, and making a genuine commitment to improve one’s impact on others. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that ALL members of our community can truly enjoy hockey – the greatest sport in the world. To get there, though, we may need you to Get Uncomfortable.
We took the pledge, and we hope you’ll use the link above to do so too. Don’t forget to donate to BGHC while you’re there, and use their resources to learn more about how be a good ally, shut down racism when you see it, and dismantle biases you might not realize that you have.
Hockey is the best sport in the world, but to reach its maximum potential, it needs to be a safe and inclusive place where all feel welcome and represented.
Black Girl Hockey Club and all BIPOC in hockey who have had to carry this burden on their own for too long. This pledge is the first step towards being better allies, and we hope to alleviate some of the weight from you in this fight for equality and the eradication of racism in hockey and society.
