Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. implored us to make decisions about a person based on their character, not their skin color. His invitation was to judge them on what you see that person do—their integrity, energy, and passion rather than their birth circumstance that gave them a social identity and role they did not ask for. This is true. But what he did not do is ask us to do is turn a blind eye on the privileges or barriers that social identities afford us.
Read moreWorking Alongside Versus Welcoming In: Moving Beyond Inclusion Toward Authentic Integration
The simplest step toward real equity in teams and organizations is the most important one and is often completely missed: establish and frame mutuality. Cultural competence is the framework of mutual respect. I tell leaders, you have to prepare yourself and your team to truly integrate an “other” by embracing the needs, values, and value of the person and their perspectives being invited in. This takes cultural humility.
Read moreFocusing Language: Inclusion Versus Tolerance
One of my favorite conceptual frameworks of tolerance explains tolerance as a necessary practice of assessing how an individual or an organization demonstrates its valuing of diversity. It’s a measurement practice that can be employed at certification and evaluation times and in assessment processes for individuals, supervisors, departments, and workplaces across all sectors. When a team of people at an organization practice tolerance, this reflects their ability to make space for individuals and communities with their cultural context of attitudes, beliefs, experiences, and practices.
Read moreA Healing Pittsfield is One that Talks about Sexism and Racism
Thinking about our community as a whole… as the central heartbeat of the Berkshires, Pittsfield is a resilient city. We don't need another GE to rescue or “restore” Pittsfield; we need to loosen up the status quo in leadership and start practicing equity. We need to ask each other, what would a healthier Pittsfield look like?
Read moreOvercoming White Supremacy with Love in Action
Cultural humility means listening to stories of white supremacy as it has been experienced by people of color and believing them. I notice a consistent desire on the part of white allies to “fix” and “help”. Too many people of color work to exhaustion, hoping white allies will dig deeper and make real changes in their families, churches, and networks. We work willingly and just ask for the same level of investment, risk, and listening.
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