Black Lives Matter: It’s time to create #realchange
His name was George Floyd and he sparked a movement the world hasn’t experienced in a very long time.
I thought I was a human rights advocate then the events of recent weeks made me question that. Did I have unconscious bias and not realize it? These recent deaths made me question whether I had lost that drive for advocacy from my younger years as I got busy with life and comfortable with white privilege.
The Covid-19 pandemic was hard enough, yet the atrocity of racism raised its ugly head amidst it all. People are tired. Black people are especially tired and that’s why we are experiencing the movement of centuries of oppression come to the surface again. Enough is enough.
You may not know that I grew up in low-income housing. I grew up in the projects and our little area was called the “Yuckaflats” or “the Flats” for short (named after the rows of flat-topped townhouses). While there were predominantly white families in my neighbourhood, there were three black families. I didn’t question it then. Those three families had beautiful children. Those children became my friends and one of them remains a very close friend.
We had a chat this week about what is going on in the world and how the recent tragedy is affecting us and our families. We also spoke about how we never thought it was odd that we were good friends who never talked about our skin colour. I guess we were lucky. Yet for others that is not the case.
What I have learned as I have watched the news, listened to podcasts, and read more is that we can all do better.
We can do better.
As individuals. As parents. As HR professionals. As leaders. As business enterprises.
We need to continue to open and expand the dialogue and tough conversations about differences. We need to foster an environment that allows an individual to speak up about their treatment of discrimination. We need to create a workplace that values diversity, inclusion and belonging, not simply with slogans or values statements, but with #realaction to create #realchange.
I follow an amazing writer and blogger named Claire Diaz-Ortiz and she introduced me to a gifted black writer and poet named Scott Woods.
As he explains, racism is much bigger than “conscious hate.” And I agree. That is why we also need to check our unconscious bias and review systemic issues that then can move us to anti-racism. I share the passage she shared on this. Employers need to educate.
Scott says:
“Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.”
Wow. That is a lot to take in! But we owe it to others and to ourselves to do that. We owe it to future generations. To take it in, and re-read it over and over again. And then to do something about it.
I do believe that #BlackLivesMatter. And I do believe that I am an ally. I also know that I have more to do. I can listen more. I can educate myself, my family and those who work with me more. I can also support my friends and colleagues who have a different skin colour than me.
During this time:
Business leaders should check in.
If you’re a business leader, have you checked in with your employees, especially with those who have felt the pain closer to them because of their race? . Did you as a leader express genuine concern? Did you tell your employees that it was okay to take a day off if they needed it?
Did you truly listen and seek to understand?
Business leaders or HR managers should examine their policies.
Having an anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policy is mandatory but it’s not enough. Having a diversity and inclusion strategy is also important but not enough.
Companies need to move beyond simply writing policies to creating a corporate culture that allows for open dialogue that makes a measurable difference. Pay equity issues are real. Gender equity issues are real. Racial inequity issues are real.
Let’s start creating the workplaces of the future, now. Start by acknowledging what your employees are going through. Listen. Act. Give.
Business leaders and their employees alike should educate themselves.
Listening to the news and discussing what’s going on is one thing, but it’s important to get a factual and historical perspective on what’s going on, so you can be part of #realchange. I know I have more learning to do as well.
Below is a list of resources that I’ve been reviewing which would be insightful and impactful in your education on this topic:
Articles, Books, Podcasts & DocumentariesBusiness leaders and their employees should donate.
Making a statement with your dollars is one of the most effective ways of creating #realchange. Corporate social responsibility is no longer an “add-on” but critical to the success of a healthy workplace culture.
Life Works Well believes that #blacklivesmatter and is committing to donate portions of June’s revenue to Black Lives Matter Toronto Chapter. Other places that you can donate to (in Canada and the U.S., including petitions to sign) are:
I’ve always loved Martin Luther King Jr.’s autobiography; learning more about him and what he did for civil rights in the 1960s. I’m saddened to think that all of his hard work and the work of others like him, are coming undone.
Maybe if we all do our part and act in earnest, this world will experience #realchange