Coachella Producer Goldenvoice Unveils Social Justice Initiatives, Clothing Lines
Goldenvoice, founder and producer of the Coachella Festival, has announced several social-justice initiatives including Black Lives Matter-inspired clothing by four Black designers based in California.
The initiatives, launched by GV Black, an internal organization launched in 2017 to “guide the venues, festivals, and company forward in the mission to expand on racial justice work,” include:
We commit to continuously evolve as a festival that not only speaks on equity, justice and actively anti-racist change, but acts on it. Our initiatives are a starting point; not meant to be static but to expand and evolve to best suit our community.
AMPLIFYING VOICES
Share our platform with Black creatives to support their brands and Black nonprofit organizations of their choosing as part of a specialty merchandise collaboration. Continue this dynamic partnership within the entire festival merchandising ecosystem from design, to strategy, to final product.
Encourage fans to get ready to vote with HeadCount by checking registration, registering and reviewing resources to inform ballot decisions. Educate about voter suppression and empower individuals to take action in their local community and national elections.
COMMUNITY CARE
Deepen our work across the intersections of race, gender and mental health as they connect to our existing – transformative justice inspired – harassment prevention program, every one.
Celebrate and empower the LGBTQ+ Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community through a Queer/Trans mentor-led festival experience meant to support discussion of issues that affect the community and lead to actionable dialogue and change beyond the festival – curated by Juice x Navi, Queer +
Further our festival’s inclusivity and accessibility efforts, including employment initiatives in support of BIPOC people with disabilities, via an inaugural program that will host and honor guests within the community, with a focus on forwarding issues facing this group – led by Sabeerah Najee in partnership with Accessible Festivals.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Establish sustainable and measurable hiring and contracting procedures in efforts to grow and develop current and future BIPOC-owned businesses, as part of our vendor procurement strategy – creating a more diverse and well-rounded production workforce at our festivals.
Create distinct pathways for current and future BIPOC vendors, entrepreneurs, and creatives to be involved in all festival verticals: performances, art, merchandise, content, technology, food and beverage, partnerships, operations and management.
Continue to build employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated BIPOC and expand the candidate pool to work at the festival across all departments and managerial levels. Establish strategic partnerships in the formerly incarcerated workforce re-entry space to develop an employment mentorship program.
STAFF CULTURE
Develop long-term relationships with schools, programs and collectives that focus on BIPOC youth career development and create recruitment pipelines for current and future candidates by building relationships with workforce preparedness groups, trade schools, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and other BIPOC career-preparatory organizations.
Engage in comprehensive and ongoing BIPOC-owned training and consultation that upholds racial justice values. Continue to develop as a zero-tolerance, anti-racist workplace and festival site that provides safety, support, and equitable opportunity for BIPOC colleagues and our entire community, old and new.
The clothing lines below pledge all proceeds to the artists and a charity of their choosing.
The designers include Bricks & Wood, Diana Boardley, Nicholas Mayfield and Supervsn. The charities of choice include, respectively, Dreamhaus, a Los Angeles art-education nonprofit; Sole Folks, a nonprofit that empowers emerging entrepreneurs; Black Design Collective, which helps black designers with business plans, sourcing, and raising money; and Organization of choice: Living Through Giving, which aims to serve the black community through “creativity and wellness.”
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