BLMedia Ethics and Conduct Agreement

Introduction  

This document is designed to foster a culture of respect, accountability, inclusivity, and collective empowerment within Black Liberation Media as a radical Black media collective. As such, members of this collective agree to recognize the inherent worth and dignity of every individual in the collective, treating them with consideration. As well as to ensure that all collective members work toward mutual respect, comradeship, and discourse despite any potential conflict. This includes:

  • NO intentional belittling, demeaning, or condescension
  • NO derogatory remarks
  • NO personal insults (attacks)
  • NO threats/threatening of a physical or emotional harm
  • NO deliberate falsehoods
  • NO gaslighting

Members of this collective will show respect for individuals within the collective based on aforementioned agreed upon standards of engagement, even during encouraged debates and discussions on important issues in our community, particularly the dialectical (positive and negative) aspects of diverse cultural backgrounds, traditions, religions and spirituality, and experiences of our collective members.

Accountability to the Collective  

Members of this collective:

  • Commit to transparency and open communication within the collective, fostering an environment of trust and mutual respect.
  • Hold ourselves and each other to the aforementioned agreed upon standards with regard to our actions, decisions, and contributions to the collective’s mission and goals.
  • Shall not engage in behavior that can be considered violent, harmful and/or threatening to other members of the collective.
  • Shall not destroy, take or misuse equipment, passwords, collective or individual infrastructure that is owned by the collective and or used by the collective to further the mission of the collective.

Individual Show Content  

Members of the collective:

  • Understand that individual show content is the prerogative of the individual host, as long as the show and its content can reasonably be said to be aligned with the mission statement, Principles of Unity, and agreed upon ethics and conduct of the Collective.
  • Any issues or concerns regarding individual shows which may violate the principles of unity and agreed upon ethics and conduct should be addressed as outlined in the Conflict Resolution section.
  • As related to members of the collective who engage in the chat, we strive to keep criticism constructive, being mindful of the standards of engagement outlined in this document. Specifically, with regard to engaging the show hosts.

Conflict Resolution  

Basic requirements:

  • Always attempt to address conflicts with collective members directly.
  • Should individual attempts not result in resolution, please refer the issue to the Ethics Committee for mediation.

Issues related to individual show content:

  • If any content of a show needs to be reviewed (for potential strike) by the collective, the collective shall have a meeting and review the material.
  • If by consensus (of those other than the show host) the members find the material outside the standards of the collective and the agreed-upon mission, the host will be given a strike to not repeat the behavior.
  • If the same behavior happens again, the collective will come together to reach a consensus on the next step, which can result in another warning, the show being suspended, and/or the host being removed from the collective membership.

Members of this collective:

  • Prioritize resolving conflicts and disagreements through dialogue, active listening, and mediation, aiming for mutually satisfactory solutions.
  • Commit to addressing conflicts respectfully and within the collective, maintaining trust and unity.
  • Commit to presenting issues between members to the membership and not on air.
  • Commit to the mediation process, should it be needed, that is outlined in the BLMedia Organizing Agreement

Behavior that would be deemed detrimental to the channel (see aforementioned behaviors outlined in Accountability to the collective), would be subject to temporary suspension, pending an internal investigation or external investigation by a 3rd party organization, and may result in permanent removal from the collective.

Collective-Decision Making   

Members of this collective:

  • Practice democratic and participatory decision-making processes within the collective, ensuring that all members have a voice and a stake in shaping our collective direction and priorities.
  • Prioritize consensus-building and collaboration, valuing diverse perspectives and experiences in decision-making.
  • Will adhere to the decision making process as outlined in the BLMedia Operating Agreement.

Confidentiality and Privacy  

Members of this collective respect the privacy and confidentiality of sensitive information (including but not limited to meeting discussions, financial data, individual conflicts, show content review, etc.) shared within the collective, maintaining strict confidentiality unless explicitly authorized by the collective to disclose.