CRG Year in Review: AfroChime
When Priscilla Alfaro joined Chime in 2018, we didn’t have any Chimer Resource Groups (CRGs). But when several women decided to get together and celebrate International Women’s Day, a seed was planted: Chime needed to support Chimers through resource groups. That’s how our CRG program was born. It started with DiversiChime — an umbrella group — ChimeHers, and OutChime.
“At the time, there wasn’t much representation of the Black community at Chime yet — we were still a small company,” Priscilla says. “When we achieved more representation at the company, we decided to create a CRG for Black Chimers.” They created a Slack channel and came together for the first time: AfroChime was officially launched.
AfroChime’s mission is to nurture the Black community at Chime and educate all Chimers about the Black experience. It strives to encourage not just allyship but being an accomplice by supporting Chime as an anti-racist workplace.
What a year 2020 has been
2020 has been a huge year for the Black community, to say the least. For AfroChime, it started with a Black History Month presentation in February and a visit to the Museum of African Diaspora in March right before Chimers started working from home. It quickly turned into a flurry of virtual events, advocacy, and getting involved across Chime and the community to keep everyone connected and supported during an extremely overwhelming year for AfroChime and the broader Black community.
“When we first went into lockdown, we had African printed masks made by Love Iguehi, an Oakland-based Black female artist, sent to members of AfroChime,” Priscilla says. “Then May and June came and the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and more occurred, so we started to do more.”
Discussions were sparked across the company and channels opened for Chimers to communicate, connect, and support each other. AfroChime hosted a safe space and guided discussion with ReadySet where Chimers opened up: “It was really emotional because so many people were completely raw and shared how they were feeling,” Priscilla says. “We just wanted to be sure we were providing a container for Chimers to feel seen and heard through their experiences of everything going on.”
When June rolled around, AfroChime co-lead Courtney Clavon teamed up with our Head of Government Affairs, Chris Massey, to educate fellow Chimers about Juneteenth, an often overlooked Black day of remembrance. They brought the idea of making Juneteenth a company holiday to leadership, and it was designated a Forever Chime Holiday: Chimers will always get Juneteenth off in remembrance, celebration, and solidarity with the Black community.
2020 also spurred many donations to organizations like 100 Black Men, Black Girls Code, and the Equal Justice Initiative on behalf of AfroChime and Chime. And the group continued with regular events like book club and view and reviews. “Overall, we took an organic approach to our work in 2020, responding to the events that were happening and working to continue supporting Chimers through their day to day lives,” Priscilla says.
Momentum doesn’t come without its challenges
AfroChime’s organic approach didn’t come without challenges, however. “There was a whole new level of awareness around the Black experience and needed to use that momentum to educate people,” Priscilla explains. While many events, discussions, and changes were a result of events over the year, the group was often overwhelmed and struggled to stay present.
“For AfroChime’s co-leads, like myself, it was hard to stay present in difficult moments,” Priscilla says, “We had to seize the momentum of current events, but we were also grappling with our own personal experiences throughout it all.” As a result, the group felt less connected at times and like every conversation they had was a heavy one. To combat this, they created more casual get-togethers and conversations for AfroChime members only to share their experiences, such as over a card game or simple Zoom chat. “We need to keep participation light and engaging for our core members and remember that serving them is our number one priority,” Priscilla adds.
All in all, 2020 has been a year of growing awareness — many people were simply not aware of the reality of racism and discrimination. Through events like an anti-racism panel, AfroChimers have shared their experiences with discrimination and truly be vulnerable with fellow Chimers — and feel supported as a result. “We will continue to educate one another on our experiences and recognize that there’s a lot of learning to do for everyone, but that we’re all here for each other through it all,” says Priscilla.
A shift to community in 2021
In 2020, AfroChime gained visibility and momentum, opened up to the company, and led the charge on many internal and external work. In 2021, the group plans to go inward more, reconnect its own community members with each other, and create a deeper sense of belonging within.
“We hope that by focusing on reconnection in the beginning of 2021, we will feel more united and able to seize momentum in the future,” Priscilla says. “Then we’ll be able to make even more progress.”
