My Letter to Gap brand’s CMO About Our Black Lives Matter Page

1082 words published on Jun 18, 2023

Three years ago, I sent an email to the CMO of Gap (brand, not Inc.), and several colleagues in June 2020. I’ll describe the context and more after but I don’t want to bury the lede, so here’s the unedited (except for formatting and removing sensitive data) message.

Hello Mary,

I don’t think we’ve met in person yet. My name is Corry and I work for the Gap brand contingent of WCD. I recently executed the landing page for our Black Lives Matter support campaign (it goes up on 6/19, so this link won’t work until then), and I was proud to be able to do so.

During development, I saw the copy changes along the way and the choice to change the primary headline from an unequivocal message of support “Black Lives Matter.” to what I see as a watered-down message of “Stand United.”

Stand United. Together we will bridge the gap. Black lives matter. This isn't a moment. It's a movement for better. While we know that real action takes time, it has to start now. We're taking this moment to look inward and make real steps towards more clearly championing inclusivity and diversity within our company. And we have work to do. Our black employees, allies, and advocates spoke up. And came together to set real intentions for real actions, focused on more representation inside (and outside) our company, making products with purpose, and continuing to include black voices in all our marketing. So, we make this pledge to you. We haven't always been perfect but go forward, you have our honesty and transparency. We'll be on our social channels every month with an update on our progress. Together, we will move forward. As individuals. Unified to bridge the gap. Now. — Current Copy

Black lives matter. Together we will bridge the gap. This isn't a moment. It's a movement for better. While we know that real action takes time, it has to start now. We're taking this moment to look inward and make real steps towards more clearly championing inclusivity and diversity within our company. And we have work to do. Our black employees, allies, and advocates spoke up. And came together to set real intentions for real actions, focused on more representation inside (and outside) our company, making products with purpose, and continuing to include black voices in all our marketing. So, we make this pledge to you. We haven't always been perfect but go forward, you have our honesty and transparency. We'll be on our social channels every month with an update on our progress. Together, we will move forward. As individuals. Unified to bridge the gap. Now. — Previous copy

There are a few reasons this bothered me, and I voiced my concerns during production while continuing to execute the task on a tight timeline.

The term “Black Lives Matter” is not supposed to be controversial. It represents an incredibly basic concept that no one should turn away from. Pushing it down from the powerful primary headline where it was into the body copy feels like retreat from that strong stance of support.
Using the term “Black Lives Matter” does not co-opt the movement it represents. It is exactly the statement that the movement seeks to see and hear from everyone until the moment that no one questions it.
I believe one of our brand’s strongest core principles is inclusivity, and that is a big part of what makes me proud to work here.

I hope I’m wrong about the intentions of this edit — I was unable to hear the reasoning from anyone else on the team when I asked — but I still believe that it’s a mistake to come out (weeks later than many other businesses already have) with a weaker message.

Thank you for your time and the opportunity for me to speak my mind about an issue that I care deeply about.

If you read this before 6/19, there is still time to fix this, and I will make myself available to do so up until we replicate the site files around midnight tonight.

You can see the page on our WIP environment here if you are connected to VPN: [link removed]

I have a file set aside ready to swap in if we want to go back to the previous headline. All other copy will remain unchanged and I will take full responsibility for ensuring its elegant presentation and code quality.

Thank you again for your time.

❤ Corry

Corry Frydlewicz
Lead Web Content Developer
WCD Gap brand

Candor

I’m grateful for Gap’s “Speak With Candor” policy because I can’t really help myself but do so. In other companies and roles, my candor has gotten me disciplined or fired. I was terrified to speak up here, because those other companies boasted “open door” policies and pretended to welcome dissenting opinions too. Those companies often eventually took my feedback to heart after they fired me, then my ex-supervisors took credit for my designs and recommendations. (ask me about Cantor Gaming sometime)

This is a big part of why I’ve stuck with Gap for as long as I have. They actually do welcome critical feedback. This letter is one of several I’ve sent to high level executives throughout my career there.

The Response

I won’t publish the response I received, but suffice to say there were some concerns from the legal department and a need to go live ASAP because we’d already waited too long after George Floyd’s murder to publish a response. We went live with the messaging I felt was insufficient and it remains to this day.

I was frustrated to be part of the corporate apparatus that hesitated to fully support the Black Lives Matter movement.

I’ve felt similarly about my internal advocacy for LGBTQIA+ issues, sensible gun control, body/disability inclusivity and representation, and my self-interested advocacy of untethering our operations from the gender binary. My feedback often feels like it falls on deaf ears.

Snowflakes in an Avalanche

But I’m not insignificant. I’ve joined internal organizations for the causes I care about. We organize presentations and proposals for the board of directors. I live openly as a neurodivergent queer worker among our ranks, and occasionally answer uncomfortable personal questions from coworkers to aid in visibility for the labels I embody.

I’ve taken Bruce Lee’s “Water” bit to heart since I was a teenager. One of the things he doesn’t mention water can do is erode.

I learned from my work in political activism that I need to be patient and relentless. When opposition to change I believe in puts an obstacle in my way, I need to immediately and unflinchingly leap over it. I need to show bureaucrats and trolls in my way that I’m more stubborn than they are, and their lives will be easier if they get out of my way.

I also need to be kind, precise, and patient. It’s difficult to gather allies without that. So I educate, advocate, and mentor. I stand up for others in every room I’m present in. I make others feel safe to dissent to my opinions to model the leadership behaviors I want to see above me. I want all workers to expect this from their bosses.

For one more metaphor, I liken what I am to the grain of sand that eventually becomes a pearl. I will be the constant low-grade irritant that pushes the comfortable people in power to do great things. I work toward incremental improvement, not rash destruction and rebuilding.

I won’t name the small battles I’ve won using these methods, because it’s hard to take any personal credit for them. Like this landing page, every project has many iterations and approvals to go through, and it’s hard to know which link in the chain is actually responsible for changing direction. But I want to highlight that Gap has made some positive strides, and continues to rumble internally with the work we do in our Diversity & Inclusion organization.

We’re far from cutting edge, but our hearts are there. We just need to stay patient and relentless. I hope you’re finding success voicing the issues you care about in your organizations and the greater world too.