Fashion blogger calls out brands for not inviting black influencers on trips
Influencers have made impressive profitable careers through the art of blogging.
But some are propelled to success more than others. Veteran blogger Stephanie Yeboah, a Metro.co.uk columnist, recently wrote how a lot of the influencers who get exposure and visibility are white.
Recently, another fashion blogger revealed on Twitter that she too noticed the same thing.
Screengrabbing a few of the past press trips that were available, Alicia Tenise from Washington D.C, U.S, noted that hardly any black influencers were invited.
Alicias tweet resonated with thousands of others, amassing more than 12,000 likes.
She clearly has a point.
Black influencers are rarely ever invited on influencer trips.
Ive started screenshotting every press trip Ive seen over the last month and the lack of diversity is so upsetting (but not surprising). pic.twitter.com/Zftn8ZBIhD
— Alicia (@AliciaTenise) June 20, 2019
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Some of the press trips included glamourous getaways to Turks and Caicos, Las Vegas, and more.
Alicia spent the last month documenting some of these and the images that were shared from the trips.
Another woman on Twitter pointed out brands were missing out, especially considering the power of black buying.
African Americans spending power is $1.2 trillion and we dominate many categories, wrote Safiyyah. Its advantageous for them to include us to gain the market. But hey, Im just a woman who knows our worth!
Ive been combating this with stats! African Americans spending power is $1.2 trillion and we dominate many categories. Its advantageous for them to include us to gain the market. But hey, Im just a woman who knows our worth! pic.twitter.com/eAVWqyTlUw
— Safiyyah (@soqweenly) June 20, 2019
Alicia updated the thread to say that two brands have since gotten in touch to improve how they deal with the issue in future.
One woman who was included in the images, Emily Wilkinson, said she sympathised with the blogger and wanted to know what to do in the future to advocate for diversity.
She wrote: I am always appalled at this too (and I say this as someone whose photo is screenshotted).
Thank you for speaking up and sharing your thoughts with brands! I feel like our industry as a whole needs to be much better when it comes to diversity and inclusion.
And I would love to know what I and other bloggers can do to help improve this diversity/inclusion issue when it comes to brands?
