A Letter to the Unique Venues Community
We at Unique Venues are processing the major events of the past week following the death of George Floyd. Discrimination for any reason cannot be tolerated. We must do better for our Black brothers and sisters. We must do better to listen, to learn, and to educate ourselves and others about the causes and consequences of injustice.
With the horrific murder of George Floyd and countless other individuals, we ask ourselves where we go from here as a society and as a business. As leaders in the non-traditional venues niche of the hospitality industry, we at Unique Venues feel compelled to assert our beliefs and the tenets by which we guide our daily practices as a business, as well as the expectations we have for all who choose to be part of the Unique Venues community.
At Unique Venues…
• We celebrate uniqueness. We are founded on the principle that each group and person we serve is valuable. We celebrate individually and as a collective. We believe our uniqueness unites us.
• We believe that the playing field must be leveled regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identification, age, socio-economic experience, spiritual beliefs and every other identity. Further, we must address and confront the intolerance that some in society use to oppress and suppress those different from themselves.
• We strive to ensure that the venues we represent are inclusive and celebrate diversity. Our planners must respect and ideally share this belief. We support businesses, organizations and associations who work to facilitate equality for all. Simply stated, we strive to gather in good company.
• We are committed to providing educational opportunities for those we serve. We strive to create spaces to promote constructive dialogue. We will make certain that our professional community is given the opportunity to grow, without judgment, in understanding the fabric of inequality that exists, and how to provide services and experiences that strive to negate this inequality. We believe that knowledge is power.
• We are Unique Venues, and we believe that each of us should celebrate our uniqueness each day and in every way that we can. We believe we are creating a league of our own that is hallmarked by tolerance, understanding and respect.
We at Unique Venues support the notion of peaceful protests and stand in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters.
Lock arms with us as we stand for everyone, especially the disenfranchised and oppressed. Together, we can make a difference.
Chuck Salem, CEO