What Do We Do Now?

From an Industry Perspective

Being a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practitioner, I knew this work would be hard. I knew this work would be challenging. I even knew how taxing it would be personally. I was thrilled on many fronts professionally. My work, along with others in similar positions to mine had some momentum to the work we do. Organizations had pressure to examine what was happening or not happening in their organizations. I saw so many notifications for job postings related to DEI work – Diversity Manager, Director of DEI, Chief Equity Officer, and even VP of People of Culture.

I was contacted by recruiters. Local organizations were reaching out with questions about how to begin their DEI efforts. Others wanted mentoring opportunities. Others reached out with literal handfuls of money wanting training that their organizations have allocated these funds for. I was getting busy and fast!

Now this all sounds great and it is, to some extent. This may sound a bit nuts coming from a small business owner who is trying to expand their business, but, I turned down many of these offers. Would I love to churn out contracts and ensure my little operation has income, of course!

Here is the problem – no matter how great the training curriculum may be, how knowledgeable and charismatic the facilitator is, how much expertise the consultant has, if the organizational environment won’t sustain your efforts, you are throwing your money away. An organization can create whatever fancy title they want to capture your DEI efforts but if that organization solely relies on that individual without organizational and more importantly, executive leadership buy-in, commitment and accountability, you have a fancy title with little hope of effecting change.

My question to organizations, to CEOs, to Executive Leadership is this – where is your skin in the game? What are you willing to risk? Until you can have a definitive response to those questions, stop wasting your time and your money. You can have the best DEI practitioner in whatever title you created for that position but until you actively engage in this work, make a personal commitment and assume risk, you have created a position that will fail at moving that dial and those in your organization will know, it is all lip service.

From an Individual Perspective

Historically, it has been the burden of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) to educate white people on racism. To be clear, racism was created by and benefited by white people and is therefore a problem for white people to engage, address, and dismantle.

To those that are white and interested in doing something, I say, do your work. Read the books and blogs, watch the Ted Talks and YouTube videos, complete the challenges on DEI and white supremacy. And know, all that isn’t enough. Yes, education is important and a first step. If, however, you don’t apply what you have learned, it just becomes another checkbox on a list of things you have done, maybe feel good about it for a short while, but that’s it.

You need to spend time asking yourself: what was challenging about that? How have I benefited from white supremacy and racism? What was the cost to the benefit(s) I received? What will I commit to doing differently moving forward as a result of my learning? What am I willing to risk if I truly believe that racism needs to be dismantled (discomfort, benefit, privilege, my safety – both psychological and physical)?

For my fellow BIPOC, I understand the range of possible reactions now – anger, frustration, resentment, bewilderment, relief, gratitude, and apprehension. Here is what you need to do – keep surviving until you’re thriving. We can’t ignore the emotional exhaustion from doing this work. Our skin color, our histories, our experiences aren’t something we can shed when it gets too hard, when the consequences get too real. If all you can do today is be as present as possible, do that. If you can engage in that conversation with that person who ‘doesn’t see race’ or believes that racism doesn’t exist anymore, do that. If you have a day where you just can’t, then don’t.

I am often asked by BIPOC why they should have to continue to educate and provide solutions. My answer is, you don’t. Educating, engaging and identifying ways to dismantle racism is something I choose to do, both professionally and personally. If you take a look at social change in our country from slavery, to women’s suffrage to the Civil Rights Movement, it started with people willing to engage and more importantly, willing to take a risk. They put skin in the game. I want a world to exist where my grandchildren don’t have to worry about a shorter life expectancy based on the color of their skin. I want them to have the same opportunities to live their best life as those around them in a world that reflects all the diversity that exists. I want them to navigate the world free of worry that they would be shot and killed based on the color of their skin. Those are my reasons why I continue to engage, educate, and do this work. It isn’t easy. I don’t have the same level of hope each day, but each day, I bring my hope.

#diversity