A slightly smaller Sunday Style edit this week, for various reasons. I hope these weekly posts continue to inspire and provide you with a brief escapsim?
I still can’t quite find the words to articulate my true feelings following the recent brutal murder of George Floyd. And I feel hugely uncomfortable and disrespectful even typing his name in the same post, let alone paragraph, as a word so monumentally insignificant as ‘style’. But I felt I simply couldn’t not say anything, even if that something is unintentionally clumsy and inarticulate. I am so aware that by saying nothing, I too am complicit. Like so many others (influencers/brands/websites/platforms etc.), I too am guilty of not doing nearly enough to represent a diverse enough website (this is, however something I have always been extremely conscious of, and I do (and have) always try/tried to maintain a balance of different ethnicities in the models I use in the images I choose to share, but it’s not enough), even if unintentionally. And I too can do better. And I will. I can promise you that. But I do truly believe that if we all collectively make a conscious change (in our actions, not just our opinions), and make our voices heard (however small we feel they might be), we can make change happen. We HAVE to. And this starts with our children and how we (this is not about leaving it to their teachers/schools – that’s another conversation for another time – this is our responsibility as parents) choose to educate them about race and racism. At the risk (and I’ll risk it) of sounding glib, I have to say I have never been prouder of my (ten year old) daughter, Tabitha for choosing  (over many years, not just recently) black dolls over ones that look like her (and not just one, many) and specifically asking for/seeking out various books about inspirational black women, including Rosa Parks (she also asked for a limited edition Rosa Parks doll for Christmas, and has a poster of her that she chose herself from a shop in New York when were visiting my mother-in-law last year, although I now feel guilty that I’ve still not got around to getting it framed, despite Tabitha’s reminders), Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman and Ella Fitzgerald.
I Â wanted to take my time (I try not to do bandwagon jumping or knee-jerk reactions – that’s not my style – I prefer to listen and think things through…) to consider how I can specifically help through Little Spree and a position of privilege, and I will share with you when I have. I can tell you that the first (admittedly, small and unremarkable) thing will be a children’s book edit by my boyfriend Tom (an Educational Psychologist – many of you will already be familiar with his brilliant occasional kids’ book edits) – relevant books that our kids already own, as well as new suggestions).
In the meantime, please do email me with any thoughts you may want to share, or suggestions/feedback of any kind. As you know, I always welcome feedback, positive or otherwise. How else can we, as people improve?
Take care. And as always, thank you for reading/following/supporting. I’m truly grateful. Without you, there would be no Little Spree, which in turn would mean no business/creative outlet or platform for me to (hopefully) help make a change.
Sarah xx
