In July of 2020 ACE made a commitment to do our part to help end structural racism and address diversity and inclusion in the fitness and physical activity industry. This commitment looks different for every organization, and at ACE we have been keeping equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) top of mind for a few reasons: 

While we are still in the process of refining our EDI aspirations previously mentioned, we have not stopped working toward living our commitment. Over the past six months, ACE has:

Elevated voices in the media

ACE contributed to Club Industry magazines “Hear Our Voices” article series on equity, diversity and inclusion: 

• Article- “Hear Our Voices: Speaking To The Fitness Industry’s Inclusivity Problem” (authored by Dr. Antonio Williams, ACE Board of Directors). 
• Article- “Hear Our Voices: The Impact Of Systemic Racism On The Fitness Industry” (authored Venus Davis, current ACE Certified Professional). 

Spoke publicly about EDI

ACE sought public opportunities to share our EDI commitment:

• Article- “All In: ACE Works to Influence Systemic Change For Greater Diversity” in Club Industry magazine. 
• Speaking event- Workplace Workout’s event “It's a Different World: Conversations about diversity and fitness”.
• Speaking event- Hosted Black History Dialogue series on Facebook Live in observance of Black History Month.

Looked within ACE  

• ACE participated in the ‘Stop the Hate For Profit Campaign’ aimed at stopping the value profits over hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and misinformation. ACE did not advertise on Facebook or Instagram in July.
• ACE adopted the pronoun “they” in lieu of “his/her” in blogs, textbooks and marketing materials to be more inclusive in our marketing and educational communications.

We will be regularly sharing EDI updates on this blog. Please check back or email corpcomms@acefitness.org with any questions.