#BoycottBlackDiamond: Everything You Need to Know and How You Can Help
Image collage from The Inquirer and Unsplash. The background photo is a group of protestors who police bombed excessively with tear gas as they tried to escape, but had nowhere to go as they were pushed up against a barrier on the perimeter of highway I-676 in Philadelphia.
Black Diamond and Pieps are owned by Clarus Company, an under-the-radar, little known growth stock that is in its early stages as Mike Berner describes in his article, “Clarus: Potential Compound Machine in Outdoor Recreation.” The Executive Chairman and controlling shareholder of Clarus Company is Warren B. Kanders who describes himself as an “American businessman and philanthropist.” But there’s nothing philanthropic about this filthy rich white man who is also the CEO of Safariland, the premier maker of equipment for the law enforcement industry. Safariland is a U.S. based manufacturer that sells law enforcement and “security products,” including tear gas. On August 4, 2016 Safariland proudly announced a $7.3 million sale of ballistic equipment to the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”).
It turns out white supremacists don’t just wear white hoods, they also wear snazzy, round, tortoise glasses (Kanders made his first fortune off of his 200 eyewear stores that he sold for $228 million in 1996, reports Berner). This guy loves cops so much that he boasts that his company “has saved the lives of over 2,000 officers who were shot or injured in the line of duty.” Safariland’s motto is “together we save lives.” Their website features holsters that promise to deliver “confidence that speaks volumes.”
Clarus Company not only owns Black Diamond and Pieps, but also Sierra Bullets, which sells “the most accurate bullets in the world.” To make these connections even more sinister, “Sierra even works with Federal Premium (a Vista Outdoor company) to provide bullets for the Vista Outdoor (Savage Arms brand) assault-style weapons.”
Clarus’ website provides this overview of their company (emphasis is ours):
Clarus Corporation is focused on the outdoor and consumer industries, seeking opportunities to acquire and grow businesses that can generate attractive shareholder returns. The Company has substantial net operating tax loss carryforwards which it is seeking to redeploy to maximize shareholder value. Clarus' primary business is as a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of outdoor equipment and lifestyle products focused on the climb, ski, mountain, sport and skincare categories. The Company's products are principally sold under the Black Diamond®, Sierra®, PIEPS® and SKINourishment® brand names through specialty and online retailers, distributors and original equipment manufacturers throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Their main concern is the bottomline, and a hefty return on investment. And they surely are getting just that.
In August 2017, Black Diamond, Inc. changed its name to Clarus Corporation to “better reflect the Company’s recent return to a diversified holding company strategy.” What this really means is rich people like Warren Kanders get richer when they diversify their stocks. As the executive chairman of The Clarus Company, Kanders’ total compensation is $1,179,370. Kanders is the majority shareholder of Black Diamond, and gets the single highest profit from Clarus. This guy has his hands and wallet in a whole bunch of outdoor companies like Carve Designs, Mountain Khakis, and Gregory Mountain Products.
We also have to mention Peter Metcalf’s hypocrisy and involvement in all of this. Metcalf is the CEO, director, and founder of Black Diamond. He is quoted to say, “"This has been a passion of mine since cutting my teeth with Chouinard...All three of our brands are mission driven. How we are owned and capitalized are means to an end." Even if that means to an end materializes in being owned by someone who supports the production of tear gas, which is then used against innocent civilians who are rightfully protesting to defund (and ultimately abolish) the police. Metcalf claims to support “preserving and protecting places for people and making sure they have access to the places that are protected.” He goes on to say, “...that’s a beautiful, simple, and essential mission that enhances the lives of all Americans.”
Are they truly concerned with enhancing the lives of all Americans, or just focusing on protecting and preserving what’s lining their pockets? I bet on the latter.
Also, despite what Warren Kanders has written on his outdated website about this “philanthropy,” he has already been called out and held accountable in the past for his ties to the production of tear gas thanks to the coordinated efforts of Decolonize This Place. But he doesn’t mention that on his site. Protestors were successful in removing him from the Board of the Whitney Museum of American Art last year in July 2019. At a time when brands and companies are co-opting the Black Lives Matter movement because now it’s trendy and in fashion to support anti-racism, we must hold these corporations, and the white men who profit off police violence, accountable.
Black Diamond was quick to jump on the bandwagon by publishing a black square for #BlackOutTuesday, which was ultimately a tactic of optics so the brand could seem “progressive.” This is performative activism, as Jose Angel @elgordx_afuera pointed out in the comments,
“I can’t help but see not a single black person or person of color. Climbers and outdoor enthusiasts of color exist and they’re out there but are made invisible. I think first and foremost yal should actually make a genuine statement about how you support the black community AND ways in which you will do so (ex. Donating money to help post bail for protestors) because yal have the funds and the platform to do so. This is performative asf and yal need to do more.”
Those who are paying attention aren’t convinced of Black Diamond’s “allyship” in the least. Word spread quickly over this last weekend about Black Diamond’s association with Warren Kanders because of a group of folks who started the Instagram account @BoycottBlackDiamond, as well as created this detailed “Guide Book,” which explains the whole mess of ties to state violence. Black Diamond’s black square proves to be a true slap in the face to the Black Lives Matter movement. Hundreds of people took to social media and email to call out Black Diamond’s association with Kanders and tear gas. Indigenous Women Hike, led by Jolie Varela, posted this infographic created by the anonymous group (same group who created @BoycottBlackDiamond) with the caption, “You ever think of how you might be unknowingly supporting tools of protest suppression?”
In response to all of this, on June 6th, 2020, Black Diamond posted another black square, but this time with the words “Black Lives Matter,” in their on-brand, bold font, followed by a series of posts that claim, “We are listening. We are learning.” These are two phrases that are frequently repeated these days from white people who don’t know what to say about their anti-Blackness, so they resort to this lazy, canned response in hopes of placating those justifiably calling them out.
Those who started @BoycottBlackDiamond also drafted this letter template that you can use to send an email to Pieps, as well as Black Diamond’s management team to demand that they cut ties with Warren Kanders. Despite Black Diamond claiming that they have no relation to Safariland, both Black Diamond and Safariland are owned by Warren Kanders, which means that Black Diamond is complicit in the use of tear gas against innocent people, and state-sanctioned violence.
When Black Diamond posted a response to all of this on their Instagram they actually did everyone involved in #BoycottBlackDiamond a favor. Now there are nearly 13,000 people who know about these complex, interrelated, and violent ties. Let’s put all hands on deck and get to work flooding their emails and social media accounts.
At Terra Incognita Media we’ll keep you updated as this issue develops. To stay in the loop you can subscribe to our email list.
Relevant:
Tear Gas is Way More Dangerous Than Police Let On -- Especially During the Coronavirus Pandemic by Lisa Song
Sarah Mirk created this comic about the protests in Portland and how Mayor Ted Wheeler is still letting the police use tear gas on protestors.
