#DEIforthelonghaul — Blog — Co-Creating Inclusion

We are not “the help”

I’ve had this blog post brewing in my head for a while, since before I read Ijeoma Oluo’s piece “We have the right to not be annoyed” where this passage hit home:

Y’all (the white people out of pocket in my comments and DMs) keep thinking that this is all for you.

The books, the talks, the work - all of it is for you. You are sure that I and others who write and speak on race wake up every day and think, “how can I help white people today?” I’m not being facetious. You really do view us, in our anti-racist work and in our very existence, as “the help.”

Oooof, yeah this hit home.

What happens after radical truth telling and acknowledgement?

One of the things that often happens when you open up the space for difficult conversations about racism and other form of systemic oppression that might be underlying the challenges and harm experienced by the most impacted in a community or organization is that it gets messy. It feels uncomfortable. It is often intensely painful.

More on the dilemma of fall school reopening decisions (why aren't we listening to those most impacted?)

The data shows that low-income, Black and Latinx families are the least in favor of re-opening schools. They place a higher priority on not dying (ie containing the virus) than on restarting the economy or getting their kids out of their hair so they can get work done more peacefully at home (which is the priority for many white and more privileged parents who are otherwise shielded from the worst effects of the virus).

As Jen Roesch argues in her article "If Opening Schools Is About Equity, Why Aren’t We Listening to Those Most Impacted?", instead of forcing students back to school, we should support them and their families to learn at home.

How are you approaching fall school reopening decisions for your family, if you have school age kids? What is your company or organization doing to support working parents? How can you advocate for working parents, especially those who face the most systemic challenges?

How can we meet community needs? Thoughts on in-person, hybrid or remote learning during a global pandemic

As many families grapple between choices of in-person, hybrid, or remote learning, I wanted to share some different articles that have helped me clarify my thinking.

Even if you are not a parent or caregiver, this is an important conversation to be aware of and part of - not only do you likely have friends, family and colleagues who are grappling with these issues, but these are community and systemic issues that impact us all.

Employers have a role too because they have the ability to mitigate the impossible math of working from home full time while your kids are at home full time trying to get an education, and that, as always, disproportionately impacts those already most impacted including BIPOC, low income, and essential worker families and especially the women in those families.

For those who hastily proclaimed that Black Lives Matter these past couple of months, it's time to act like they do.

Diversity, equity and inclusion on social media (Savvy Social podcast interview)

One of the things we've all had the chance to both watch and experience lately is how to practice diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on social media. Some companies have been doing it well... others, not so much.

I recently got the chance to speak with social media strategist Andréa Jones about how to share on social media with transparency and accountability so as to lower the cost of speaking up and create safety within our communities. Although Andréa's podcast speaks mostly to digital business owners, the conversation we had can be applied to any business or organization.

Lowering the cost of speaking up

One of the things I've realized that I can do as a DEI consultant, along with my team at Co-Creating Inclusion, is to lower the cost of speaking up.

And now what we're seeing across the country and even across the world, despite my misgivings about a "woke wave", is a systemic and cultural lowering of the cost of speaking up.

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