Concrete Action / #BLM Post

pages/news/2020-XX-XX-concrete-action.html

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+title: Concrete Action: Taking a Stand with Terminology and Recruitmenty
+author: Core Team, Edited
+date: 2020-06-08 01:00:00
+
+{% extends "post.html" %}
+
+{% block post %}
+
+{% load markup %}
+{% filter markdown:"extra" %}
+
+Alongside the protesters in the US and around the world, the Mixxx team
+unequivocally renounces police brutality. The systemic racism that burdens
+people of color every day is the responsibility of white people around the world
+to address.
+
+Mixxx leadership has been discussing concrete actions we can take as a community
+and today we announce two efforts: first, to eliminate "master" and "slave"
+terminology from our code base and second, to recruit paid interns from
+underrepresented communities to join our contributor base.
+
+## Terminology Changes
+
+Major projects like [Python](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x7akv/masterslave-terminology-was-removed-from-python-programming-language),
+[Go](https://www.reddit.com/r/golang/comments/gy9ylr/go_has_removed_all_uses_of_blacklistwhitelist_and/fte1zk0/),
+and now [Github](https://www.cnet.com/news/microsofts-github-is-removing-coding-terms-like-master-and-slave/) have all worked to eliminate the
+use of the problematic terms, "master" and "slave," and today Mixxx joins them.
+The issue of nomenclature and terminology in software is one example of how deeply
+embedded white privilege is around the globe and we hope changing these terms is
+one small step towards a more inclusive and diverse coding community.
+
+Although we eliminated the use of the word "slave" back in
+[2016](https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx/commit/e59916caf72a256bb28b1722759a629c5cc9cf81),
+"master" still appears in a number of places. We have a "master" code branch,
+a "Master Sync" feature, an "EngineMaster" object, and more. We are working to
+migrate our code away from these words, even in cases where the particular
+meaning of "master" was never explicitly associated with a problematic context.
+
+It’s important to note that there will be some cases where the word will remain.
+Many DJ controllers have buttons marked "master" on them, and we need to refer
+to those buttons by name. There are also the audio engineering concepts of a
+"master tape" or "audio mastering", so there may be areas of our documentation
+or code that would be less understandable if we tried to use synonyms. But in
+situations where master is used in code and previously was part of a
+master/slave terminology pairing, we commit to changing the language we use by
+DATEDATEDATE **TKTKTKTK commit to a timeline to change the main branch?? TKTKTKTKTK**.
+
+But changing language is not enough.
+
+## Diversifying Recruiting
+
+In our discussions, we quickly noted that the Mixxx contributor base is largely
+white, male, and either American or European. For some of our coders, the
+experience of working on Mixxx has been a doorway to employment at some of the
+most prestigious software companies, and we want that door to be open to anyone.
+It is our goal to make the Mixxx project as inclusive, accessible and welcoming
+as possible. As such, it is our responsibility to actively seek out and promote
+the participation of traditionally underserved groups.
+
+As a small volunteer-led project with no regular income, budget, or employees,
+we don't yet know for sure what the demographic makeup of our contributors is --
+but we are aware of the research that shows that blind admission and hiring
+tends to result in less diverse outcomes.
+To that end we plan to sponsor an [Outreachy](https://www.outreachy.org/) intern
+in December 2020, the next available cycle. Outreachy’s stated goal is to
+provide "internships to work in open source and free software, for women
+(both cis and trans), trans men, and genderqueer people" and "residents and
+nationals of the United States of any gender who are Black/African American,
+Hispanic/Latin@, Native American/American Indian, Alaska Native, Native
+Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander." They encourage "anyone who faces
+under-representation, systemic bias, or discrimination in the technology
+industry of their country" to apply.
+
+Our goal is that this Outreachy intern will be the first of an increasing number
+of valued contributors from underserved communities that will help us be a
+healthier, more sustainable open source project. With your help, we intend to
+continue the internship process semiannually for at least 5 cycles and at that
+time assess if we should continue with the program or if our diversification
+efforts would be better served with a new approach.
+
+An Outreachy intern will cost Mixxx $6,500 to sponsor. Because we don't have the
+money to do this ourselves, we are asking the Mixxx community to step up and
+pitch in to help raise the necessary funds for this sponsorship. We have never
+and will never charge for Mixxx, so this is a chance for you to contribute money
+that will go directly to a person working on the project.
+
+`DETAILS ABOUT CAMPAIGN, LINK`
+
+We hope by taking this stand for diversity and inclusion our medium-sized open
+source project can show that doing the right thing is not just about renaming
+branches, but doing the hard work of changing culture, even on a small scale.
+
+{% endfilter %}
+{% endblock %}

plugins/news.py

@@ -12,8 +12,9 @@
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 AUTHOR_METADATA = {
     '': {
-        "name": "Mixxx Team",
-        "url": "https://github.com/orgs/mixxxdj/people",
+        'name': 'Mixxx Team',
+        'url': 'https://github.com/orgs/mixxxdj/people',
+        'email': 'core-team@mixxx.org',
     },
     'Be.': {
         'github': 'Be-ing',
@@ -34,6 +35,11 @@
     'Pegasus': {
         'github': 'Pegasus-RPG',
     },
+    'Core Team, Edited': {
+        'name': 'The Mixxx Core Team, edited by April M. Crehan',
+        'url': 'https://github.com/orgs/mixxxdj/people',
+        'email': 'core-team@mixxx.org',
+    },
 }