UOMA Beauty's Sharon Shooter Calls on Brands to "Pull Up or Shut Up"

The recent killing of George Floyd at the hands of police officers (opens in new tab) has sparked a massive uprising. In all 50 U.S. states, and in other countries as well, (open in new tab) protesters are flooding the streets demanding change. (Open in new tab) People are once again uniting to demand that the government drastically reform its police force and address the racial injustices taking place in the United States. And many more are calling on each and every citizen to wake up and address the racial discrimination taking place in their own communities and businesses.

Sharon Shooter, CEO and founder of UOMA Beauty, is one of the leaders on the front lines calling for change in the beauty industry. In an initiative called "Pull Up or Shut Up" launched Wednesday, Chuter is asking beauty brands to release a report that specifies the percentage of black employees and the number of black employees in leadership roles.

Chuter thanked the brands for their #BlackoutTuesday statements of support (open in new tab), but explained: "We appreciate the support, but even though we have been and continue to be part of the problem, the trending hashtag Please be aware that piggybacking is once again diverting and exploiting the black community". Her call to action also calls for consumers to join the silent protest by refraining from purchasing products from these brands until the statistics are released.

The "Pull Up for Change" campaign was created to promote real change within companies, not just in the form of social media posts or monetary donations.

"Corporations are the gatekeepers of mass participation, and they have successfully defied the expectations of the Black community.

As for UOMA Beauty, it was established in 2019 with the premise of promoting inclusivity." The inspiration for this campaign was frustration. It is the same inspiration that launched my brand. It was frustration with corporate failure and complacency," Shooter said.

Shooter hopes the campaign will inspire brands to hire blacks, explaining: "This is not a name-calling exercise, but a call for all brands to review their practices. It is easy to say that racism is someone else's problem, but what is important at this critical time is for all of us to look at how we have all been complicit in this problem, humbly accept it, and work to change it."