Our ancestors were literally branded. They were tied up, held down and a red hot iron brand held against their skin searing each layer.
400 years later the acts of torture have not stopped. The death of George Floyd shows this. The deaths of Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, Laquan McDonald among many others show this.
As a brand strategist and black woman, amid the protests I think about how we continue to be branded today, not with a scalding iron rod but with constant messages about who we are.
Messages like “essential and yet expendable” have attempted to define our value, but in 2013 three women created a new message saying instead that our lives matter.
Whether it was shared on social media, written on walls or shouted in the streets, the message was the same — our lives matter.
In the face of backlash and criticism, they continued to insist — our lives matter.
Then last week something new happened. Tens of thousands of individuals, organizations and corporations publicly declared — after years of staying silent or, like the NFL, being actively opposed — that our lives matter.
And that’s how branding works. When you consciously and deliberately define who you are and what your value is like Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi did in 2013.
When you confidently and persistently repeat it again and again without apology.
When you continue to state it in the face of disapproval and even opposition — your message starts to take hold and overcome the pervasive assumptions people make about you.
Now that these companies have declared that Black Lives Matter, they can be held to account. Because branding is more than lip service. It fails unless it’s a reflection of your core values.
I think about how we continue to be branded today, not with a scalding iron rod but with constant messages about who we are.
How many of us have taken the time to consciously and deliberately define who we are?
It can be as simple as “I am a great mother.”
It can be a statement of your dreams and aspirations. “I am an awesome chef. People travel from all over the world for a taste of my cooking.”
It can be a statement of your spiritual self. “I am a beloved child of God.”
As long as it remains an expression of who you are and what’s important to you, it is the beginning of defining your presence in this world and not allowing others define it for you.