Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

OUR COMMITTMENT TO A MORE DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE GUILD

The leadership of the Bread Bakers Guild of America unequivocally believes that Black Lives Matter. We take full responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for the missed opportunity to use our social media platform to speak out against racism as a leader in the industry, and for not using it to highlight and amplify the voices of BIPOC bakers. As an education-based organization, we want to foster an inclusive environment that is a safe space for this community. We have caused harm and we sincerely apologize. We realize our statements haven't relayed our commitments clearly or strongly enough. We understand that second statements can feel performative, but we offer this message with real sincerity and love for the bread community and for BIPOC professionals, bakers, and students.

We know that systemic racism and marginalization of BIPOC are structural problems throughout society and leave no industry untouched, including ours. For some, this may be uncomfortable to hear, but many others can speak to its truth. We do not see this as a political issue, but an issue of human rights, as well as one of safety, family, culture, hearth and nourishment—values that have brought us together in our work.

We are committed to more inclusive, anti-racist learning and to take more action to bring awareness to issues involving racial injustice in our own communities and our industry at large.
Some new initiatives of the BBGA are listed below. They are just a beginning to the internal, organizational, and educational work that needs to be done. This process will be one of continuously learning (and unlearning) how to deviate from the norm of Eurocentric institutions.

encourage leadership opportunities for BIPOC within BBGA such as board membership, content creation, special projects and committee work
increase the involvement of our BIPOC members through classes they instruct and Bread Lines articles they author
ensure the bench scholarship program is extended to BIPOC communities, even if they aren’t members of the Guild
offer one year welcome scholarships to BIPOC who are interested in the artisan baking industry
rethink how the artisan bread industry appeals to BIPOC. For instance, culinary schools have many BIPOC students but few are drawn to the bread world. Why and how do we change it?
use our social media platforms to amplify the voices of BIPOC about their expertise and their experiences in the artisan baking world
use our social media platforms to highlight the work of those in their communities who are supporting racial justice and equity
commitment to anti-racist study/training within the organization. We are exploring some suggestions and welcome feedback on organizations/resources you may have found helpful.
outreach towards collaborations with other organizations doing work in BIPOC networking and employment in the baking industry, and food security and sustainability
looking into grants that could support hiring of a social media coordinator to help with the above efforts
form a committee/working group on anti-racism, food justice and inclusivity

We deeply appreciate the willingness the baking community has shown to help us improve as individuals and as an organization in the work of anti-racism. We hope that you will feel invited to continue to share your feedback as we work to keep the BBGA true to its mission as a guild of mutual aid, education, and support. We apologize again for the delay in getting this message out and hope it can provide more clarity and a platform for ongoing action.