Shop the post: lemlem Semira Popover Dress (wearing an XS), BaubleBar Earrings, Dolce Vita Sandals

Wow! It’s amazing what has happened in our world over the past week. I have to say my eyes and ears have been opened and I feel encouraged and empowered and motivated and excited for the changes coming. I also feel embarrassed and disappointed in myself that I haven’t been a true advocate for the Black community or POC in my daily life and work life. It has been a necessary wake up call. Change isn’t going to happen overnight but I look forward to learning and growing and supporting and leaning into the fight against racism at home and here.

Over the past week I’ve done a lot of self reflection about what this means for my job and my role as an “influencer.” I think the greatest role you can play as someone who has influence is inspiring people to be kind, to lift others up, to lead with love, to share the real and the raw moments and to speak up about the things that matter. At the same time, this platform has never been a resource for news articles, political views or conversations on social justice. Honestly these aren’t conversations I enjoy to have in my personal life. Not because they aren’t important but because they often lead to defensive arguments about whose opinions are right or wrong (do we have them? of course!). My opinions/beliefs/the way I choose to present important topics are never going to make everyone happy and that’s ok. That’s why HAF will continue to share the things that make me happy – my family, cooking + recipes, wellness, fashion, our home. There are so many resources available to us when it comes to the issues in our world and I encourage you to utilize those to LEARN, I know I will. I have saved a bunch of helpful resources here.

That being said, I’m excited to make a more conscious effort to support and promote the Black community going forward. Sharing and supporting more Black-owned businesses, highlighting Black influencers who are doing amazing things in this space, speaking up to the brands I work with to make sure the campaigns I am participating in are diverse and inclusive of POC, donating to organizations that are working hard behind the scenes to make sure the work is being done in our communities and across our nation. Standing up for racial injustice may not be obvious here every single day. It may look like reading a book to my kids at night, cooking a recipe from a Black chef, or quietly educating myself and that’s ok. The goal here isn’t change tomorrow. It’s change for the future. To end this nightmare that Black people have been experiencing their entire lives. It’s simple. It’s basic human rights.

I wanted to share a few quotes that have really guided me this past week and helped me figure out the steps to take moving forward:

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Nothing will work unless you do.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.

All from Maya Angelou and all so appropriate for what I envision for myself and HAF going forward. Sending you all lots of love as we all work to be better humans for the people and the future of our world.

*lemlem (the dress I’m wearing) is an artisan-driven collection of women’s, men’s, children’s and home goods made entirely in Africa. The core collection is handwoven from natural cotton in Ethiopia and lemlem is steadily expanding partnerships with additional artisan groups across Africa. Women are at the heart of lemlem and the brand is committed to helping them thrive both within its workshops and beyond through its support for lemlem Foundation.