A Call to Action

Torque built our business on crafting voices for others. But now, more than ever, it’s important to listen, and to uplift the unsupported voices with authenticity and caring. The Black community has suffered, been suppressed and unheard for centuries— the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless more Black lives, are another urgent call to act. 

This is also a call for us to recognize our own responsibility and participation in the racism in our society. This is a call to examine how our own actions and behaviors implicitly and explicitly contribute to this racism. This is a call to actually do the difficult, long-term work required to make lasting change.

To truly make a difference, we first need to step back and listen to the Black community so we can hear their stories, get behind their work that’s already underway, and learn how to stand together. 

The next step is to take action, both financially and morally. To that end, Torque will be donating to three important Chicago-area nonprofits: My Block, My Hood, My City; Crushers Club; and Black Lives Matter Chicago. These organizations are doing essential work to support and uplift the Black community in our city, as well as contributing to the ongoing fight against systemic racism in our country. In addition, many of our employees are donating money and participating in peace walks and marches to show support. Sometimes the first move is to realize we don’t have the answers and step into the upset and conversation, open and listening. 

Which brings us to the most important point: racism will not be torn down in a day. As others have said, this is a marathon, not a sprint, and requires ongoing shifts in behavior, process, and practice, not just donations and marches. That’s why we, as a company, are pledging to work with more Black freelancers, more Black vendors, and aim to hire Black employees, as well as examine our internal practices to see how they can change to be more inclusive, welcoming, and supportive.

This is an awakening to a social responsibility that we haven’t taken on before. We hope you will do the same.