Ignorance is not a trend
X-Clan
As I deal with the reality of my personal mortality, I am grateful to still be able to catch my breath. As I breathe deeply, I sink into a place of profound reflection urging me to keep sharing – now more than ever. Whether I like it or not, this is not a place I am supposed to feel comfortable or make others feel at ease.
I also want to say thank you to all my friends. Your words have been the scaffolding holding me just as I was about crumble. I appreciate my professional colleagues and acquaintances who have reached out especially as I have taken the steps forward in expressing myself.
I am sorry I don’t yet know how to respond to your inquiries about ways to help. I simply don’t have all the answers. I will say you can begin by checking on your black colleagues. It may be awkward, but it shows you care. You can also educate yourself because there is more than enough information out there and readily available. Even if it goes counter to every fiber in your being because it may not benefit you directly, call out racism, injustice, and inequality in the workplace and wherever you may find it. Ultimately, and in the meantime, you can show up. Show up for us at work. Show up for us in life. Show up for us.
It’s time to get uncomfortable. We live in a racist society. Many of you may be beginning to realize how emotionally and mentally exhausting it is whenever we see or hear about another black person who has been targeted or even worse – killed. All because they were barbecuing while black, driving while black, birding while black, selling water while black, walking while black, drinking coffee while black, jogging while black, and so on and on and on.
Those in positions of power with biases which are unchecked lead to what we see today. I realize this specific moment is focused on police brutality. Think about it for a minute though, if you have been the recipient of an unequal advantage in the workplace, while securing a loan, after being pulled over, while pitching for investment, while shopping for a car, while attempting to buy a home, or while seeing the doctor then there is a strong chance you are not black. You have probably consciously or unconsciously taken advantage of the way the system is set up to benefit you. And you probably didn’t see anything wrong with it because you got what you needed.
What you have been seeing is not an aberration. What you are hearing from me and others in my community is not an anomaly. What you have seen and heard recently is our reality since before we were quarantined by a virus disproportionately affecting the black and brown communities. Since we have been stuck at home, we have been forced to deal with the systemic injustice that has infected America since the birth of the nation.
The truth is, the way the system was built, it really hasn’t been in the best interest of those in power for the system to change radically. Until now. The rhetoric which takes place behind closed doors, off the record, and at business lunches is often very wrong and continues to perpetuate systemic racism. I am walking a fine line here, and to be clear, that truth was laid on me a few years back, in a very rare moment of candidness, by a person who is part of maintaining the system, a sitting politician. His statement provided me more clarity than I had ever been given, even since becoming a civil servant 13 years ago. It doesn’t have anything to do with my ability to play in this arena or to play politics. The rules of engagement aren’t equal.
It is time for a new strategy. We need to lean in until it hurts! Words must be aligned with actions. Now is not the time for government leaders around the country to continue to pay lip service to inclusive and equitable growth by striking deals only with certain leaders in the community so they can say look what we did. While these deals are a start, local governments can’t sustain the level of investment into communities that have suffered from chronic disinvestment and under capitalization of black minds on their own. It is time to partner with national and global organizations that have committed to affecting change in order to increase the impact of these investments. Also crucial in my mind is city governments, just like big corporations, need to look in their own house and find areas in which change needs to occur. What does your leadership look like? What opportunities are being created to push the boundaries? Are there any black people in true positions of authority? Have you checked on your employees?
Being passed over for promotions and job offers, being disempowered, or being denied the same opportunities, is also draining and unfortunately still a common occurrence. Not one more black person should be encouraged to just sign on or your position will be opened up, like I have. Not a single black person should be denied opportunities for advancement without having an active conversation about the value he or she brings to the organization, like I have. Not one more black person should sit in another meeting and hear, “he is the black face we need to reach the black community,” like I have. Not another black person should ever hear, “why are they here protesting, we give their organization money,” like I have. Not another black person should be so powerless as to not be able to make personnel changes in their division, when faced with a team member’s public disrespect, like I have. What happened you ask? A member of my team publicly declared he could no longer work for me, and the organization leadership backed him, not me. Not another black person should be made to feel like a troublesome property, like I have.
And as I share, you should understand this is not coming from a position of victimization, but rather from a position of information – this is what I experience daily. No employer, government, corporation, organization, should back individuals who disrespect others whether by words or actions.
Words and honest conversations are a good start. But now is the time for actions which build on the promises. Positive changes will take time. Let it begin as you lift up the black community as whole, and your black colleagues, black neighbors, and black family members as individuals. If I can help you make a step toward positive change for all, call me and let’s build together. We have the momentum.
I’ve chosen to be vulnerable with you now it’s time to for you to be vulnerable with me. We can only fix what is broken by starting in our own homes, addressing what is faulty, whether it be word or deeds. As we mend the brokenness in our own homes, we can begin to mend the brokenness in our workplaces, in our communities, in our government, and in our world. We can transform what we all know is broken into a breakthrough which benefits all of humanity through a blanket of equality, integrity, and justice for all.
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