Yesterday I announced that our first game of 2021, Red Rising, is based on a dystopian book series I fell in love with years ago. Like any great speculative fiction, Red Rising holds up a mirror to our lives, society, and world. The color-based societal structure of the dystopian Red Rising world is an allegory for the racial struggles of the past and present in the real world. It’s a cautionary tale of what can happen when people are judged by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character.
Given the dystopian themes presented in the Red Rising books, we’re donating $1 for every launch notification request entered here by February 16 to the American Civil Liberties Union to support and protect the rights of those who are underrepresented and marginalized. This isn’t an enewsletter–it’s a one-time notification that you’ll receive in March when the preorder goes live.
My goal is to donate over $10,000 to the ACLU through this endeavor. Just over 24 hours in, we have 6,304 launch notification requests, so we’re well on our way to that goal. If you’re curious about the Red Rising game and/or you want to stand up for the most pressing civil liberties of our time, just enter your email here and we’ll donate $1 to the ACLU on February 17. [UPDATE: The final donation was $10,724.]
Why are we doing this? At its heart, it feels like the right thing to do. Just look at the game box–it features a rainbow of colors. How could we not take this opportunity to support BIPOC and LGBTQ rights? This is similar to what we did for Wingspan Oceania last year when the opportunity arose. Also, even though the game is already complete and on its way to fulfillment centers, it’s helpful for us to have a rough estimate of how many people are interested in preordering it from us.
Why the ACLU? We wanted to select an organization that, at the very least, focused on BIPOC and LGBTQ rights. My only hesitancy was that our goal is to bring joy to tabletops worldwide, not just in America, but we’re based in St. Louis, and what we do in America has an impact on the rest of the world. But if you have suggestions for similar organizations that serve the world, let me know–we can support them similarly in the future.
Before I close this article, an integral part of the Black Lives Matter Statement and Declaration of Action we made in early June is public accountability. We structured our commitment as a long-term, ongoing goal to actively include and elevate BIPOC people in our work, our industry, and our community. So as I also did in July, August, and November, today I’ve updated the progress for each section of that goal in the image below.
Here is our BIPOC support form.
18 Comments on “Red Rising and Our $10,000+ Gift to the ACLU”
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[…] incredibly excited to announce this new game. We sold 9,535 units during the preorder (before which we donated $10,724 to the ACLU based on the number of preorder launch requests), and there are now over 120,000 units in […]
Fantastic. I loved reading the Red Rising series so am really looking forward to playing this. And what a great initiative to commit to supporting ACLU in their work in support of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ rights.
As always, I’m impressed by your commitment to social justice and how you’re holding yourself publicly accountable to your BLM statement. Well done and keep up the great work!
Thanks Dave! There’s a lot of work to be done, but I’m trying to learn, listen, and make a positive impact.
I will only agree “freedom of religion” when it is established on the basis of fairness, equality and mutual respect!
I don’t really think supporting the ACLU has an impact on the rest of the world though. The ACLU is clearly focused on American rights.
I appreciate your perspective, and we need to start somewhere. As I noted in the article, I am open to similar organizations that support civil liberties worldwide, particularly BIPOC and LGBTQ rights.
Amnesty International might be a good choice.
I move not seen that BIPOC statement and objectives before, somehow missed in previous updates. Each statement and objective is awesome. Trailblazing activity well done and hope you hit all the objectives 👌
Unfortunately, the ACLU often supports cases against religious freedom. Obviously no organization is perfect, but they are the reason I WON’T sign up to receive the notification for pre-orders.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m going to assume you’re referring to the cases against adoption agencies and other organizations that discriminate against. I don’t consider allowing discrimination on the basis of sex or sexuality as religious freedom. They’ve argued for religious freedom in many circumstances, and I’m sure they’d argue catholics are free to practice their religion, but preventing access to adoption resources and other services based on discrimination is fundamentally wrong and not excusable by religious freedom.
Like what cases?
I’m all for things that pass the bullshit that is ‘religious freedom’. Sorry if it offends, but ‘religious freedom’ is all too commonly used an as an excuse for prejudice and hate.
“religious freedom” in the context of ACLU cases means that some religious folks want the “freedom” to oppress and discriminate against certain people in their publicly open businesses and organizations. The ACLU should fight against this. If you want to operate a public business, you have to treat people fairly. You can’t offer lesser service or refuse service because someone is a minority. That’s bullshit.
This is plainly false. A simple examination of ACLU cases shows that they actively seek to protect the religious rights of many forms of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and other religions. What they won’t do, however, is support one group’s willingness to oppress the rights of another, most notably a woman’s right to an abortion and a myriad of LGBTQ rights. You can disagree with that position if you want, but it certainly is not evidence of failing to support religious freedom.
I am interested to hear of an example of an ACLU case that was against religious freedom.
Jamey, I know how difficult it can be for someone in business to take a position that can be perceived by some (rightly or wrongly) as “political,” and I just want to say that I appreciate you going out on a limb and standing up for what you (and by proxy, your company) believe in and backing it up with a generous donation and your ongoing transparency particularly on the subject of BIPOC support. Proud to be a Champion and supporter!
Same on all counts!
done! good luck with your goal :)