Compassion Leads to Love Leads to Action

I once heard someone say that “compassion is entering into somebody’s suffering with them.”

Over the years, Lorin and I have learned that compassion isn’t just a feeling or emotion, but it is an action. It often means stepping far out of our comfort zones in order to experience (to the extent that we can) the suffering, pain, and hardships of somebody else. It is only from that place of deep compassion and empathy that we can love well. MISSIO Hair was created to be a vehicle for love and action.

Still, in light of all that is going on in the world, we have realized that there is room to grow in compassion, love, and action. As White people in the United States, we have realized that we can never truly understand what the Black community has had to experience over centuries of inequality and oppression. Like many of you, we are realizing, lamenting, learning, listening, repenting, and yes, standing up with and for the Black community. We recognize that we all have blind spots in our hearts, but we are grateful that more of us are learning and being compelled to stand up to injustices for the sake of others.

For us, this has become very personal. We have seen the hurt, the fear, the anger, and the exhaustion of close Black friends and family members. It is time for change. We at MISSIO Hair unequivocally renounce the continued racism that exists in our country. The problem is deep and wide, and we must all play a role in finding the solution. All lives can’t matter until Black lives matter. Our Black friends, including our nephew, should not have to live in fear everyday that they could be the victims of unspeakable violence. From top to bottom in our cities and states, we must do better. This is just the beginning. As individuals and as a company, we have always committed to advocating for freedom and justice, to helping people in the most dire situations recognizing that they have an unshakeable beauty - this is a message that have extended to all people all the time: YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE NEEDED. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

The organizations that we partner with are all committed to fighting injustice, and we will continue to expand our work as a purpose-driven company. We all have a long journey ahead, but we will remain committed. In the immediate, we are excited to give to Be the Bridge, an organization that is doing incredible work for the rights of the Black community and for racial reconciliation. This is a first step of many in finally bringing about that change that is far too overdue in our country, but we believe that a lot of people doing what they can leads to massive impact. As always, we remain steadfast in being a vehicle of hope and freedom for all people.

Much love,

Kyle and the MISSIO Team