Black Lives Matter.

The Dicebreaker team stands in solidarity with Black communities around the world in disgust and opposition to the racist killing, violence, discrimination, police brutality, oppression and hatred displayed not just in the recent days and weeks with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, but in the past months, years and decades with the murders of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and countless others both widely known and unknown. Black Lives Matter, and they have been destroyed, stolen and otherwise ruined by a system and society broken beyond memory.

Systemic racism, police brutality and white supremacy are not recent issues, nor are they issues limited to the US or always conducted on a larger scale. Racism and white privilege are present in conventions, at gaming tables, in the pages of a rulebook, in the wording of a sentence, a glance across a game store. It is impossible and inappropriate to ignore or pretend otherwise.

That is as true for our industry as any other. The tabletop industry is sadly not a diverse one. The overwhelming majority of designers, artists, publishers and other members of the industry are white and male. Box and card artwork features predominantly white characters. Even worse, Black characters, cultures and communities are too often portrayed in the roles of offensive stereotypes, cultural appropriation or only notable by their total absence. Game themes and narratives consistently fail to engage with Black stories, and at worst perpetuate racist ideologies.

But the industry is not solely to blame for individual failings. The Dicebreaker team is no exception to this. We can - and we must - do more to amplify, support and provide a platform to Black creators and voices.

There is always more that can be done. We can always do more and we can always do better. We will be working toward amplifying, highlighting and giving a platform to more Black voices in the community and taking action, not just over the coming days, but the months and years to come in order to help enact real, lasting change inside our own walls, in the industry we represent and in the wider world. We expect to be held to account to this, and we will ensure that these promises are proven to be more than just words.

In the short-term, we ask you, if you are able, to join us in donating to those charities, organisations, initiatives and local bail funds - including Black Lives Matter, Black Visions Collective, the George Floyd Memorial Fund, the Minnesota Freedom Fund, the Stephen Lawrence Foundation and many others - committed to anti-racism and helping to dismantle the poisonous elements of white supremacy, police brutality and racism in our shared society.

If you cannot donate directly, please give your voice, solidarity and support to those who need it, not just now, but always. Seek out voices to amplify and help those silenced to speak. Educate yourself. Take action. Do better. We will be striving to do exactly that.

Below is a message co-signed by the Dicebreaker teams and other sites in our network.