From Racist History To Racial Equity

First: Happy Lunar New Year to those of you celebrating! ??????

Second: Happy (?) Black History Month!

Both happen to fall on February 1st in 2022. I’ve been sharing quite a bit on Lunar New Year already, so I’m going to change focus now to #BlackHistoryMonth (I’ll call it #BHM for short).

I was privileged to join the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation’s Racial Equity Training earlier this month. I was particularly excited because one of the trainers was Tema Okun, someone I’ve long admired for her work on white supremacy culture. Over a period of four days, we covered a lot of meaningful content, including:

• Race as a man-made construct, and critical race theory
• The 4 ways that race operates: systemically, institutionally, culturally and personally
• Key milestones of U.S. anti-Black racist history
• Definitions and principles of racism, prejudice, power, oppression, and white supremacy
• Internalization of racist messages and its consequences
• Principles of Nonviolence as taught by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Mohandas K. Gandhi
• Applying the principles of Nonviolence to racial equity work

So yes – as you can imagine, it was a lot to learn. As a Canadian, almost all the U.S. history was new to me. Even the works and beliefs of Dr. King and Mahatma Gandhi, I had not heard of before this. I had some general knowledge of what they’d done for anti-racism and decolonization, but that’s it. I remember reading Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech in grade 11 English, but my (white) English teacher used it for a literary exercise, not for anti-racism. And I remember watching the biopic “Gandhi” (starring Ben Kingsley) as a child, but I don’t remember the story. (Side note – only now do I appreciate the additional colonialism of having Gandhi played by an English-born stage actor, given the wealth of Indian actors in Bollywood.)

I feel a bit embarrassed to admit my ignorance, but I want to use me as an example of how much there is to learn, and that it’s never too late to do so. What I don’t know is probably different from what you don’t know, and in our JEDI community, I hope we feel safe learning together.

I thought about trying to unload everything from the Selma Center training into this newsletter. Of course, that’s impossible – and info overload. So instead, I’ll be sharing some of my ah-ha moments throughout #BHM over LinkedIn and Instagram.

I’ll also be regularly updating my website Resource Library with videos, books and websites on anti-racism and JEDI, so you can choose which topics interest you most, and learn at your own pace. Make sure to check back regularly as I add more recommendations! (Link in the Support & Resources section below).

Lastly, I want to leave you with this thought for self-reflection.

The JEDI journey begins with education and learning, and everything I’ve shared is to help you with that. But if all you’re doing is passively reading, watching, or listening, then you may gain insight, but not transformation. You may not even gain insight, if you don’t accept and absorb what you’re receiving.

Let’s be honest, the truth about racism is hard to hear. When I watch movies, I’m unfazed by the blood and violence of fantasy movies like the Avengers or even Friday the 13th, because I know it’s totally fake. But I can’t bear to watch movies like Amistad, 12 Years a Slave, or movies with rape and incest scenes – even if they’re fictional – because emotionally I can’t handle the torture and human suffering that I know really happens.

So when I hear about real life atrocities like the Tulsa Race Massacre, or Marie-Joseph Angélique (trigger warning for violence and racism before you click those links!), I recoil. I don’t want to believe they’re true; and then I don’t want to believe it could still happen today. I have to do some inner work to recognize my feelings, process what I’m hearing, and recognize what is true.

So as you learn more about race, racism, and white supremacy, how are you reacting? How much are you able to believe and accept as truth? Are there things that make you say, “That can’t be?”

It’s OK. You’re not alone, and you’re not racist for feeling that way. Your emotions are valid and accepted, and the JEDI Community is not a place of shame. The important thing is not to hide or deny your reaction, but to become aware, accept it, and move forward anyway.

If you’d like a journey guide and cheerleader to support you with compassion and care, I’m here. Please email or message me to ask about personal JEDI coaching.

Friends, thanks for being part of the Changing Lenses community!

Warmly,

Rosie

JEDI ACTIONS

DO:

1. Spend this month learning: read, watch, listen, think, discuss
2. Engage Black JEDI professionals as speakers, trainers etc. for your organization
3. Pay all JEDI professionals their full fee
4. Your own inner work – process and accept what you learn

DON’T:

1. Ask Black friends and colleagues to educate you, cook for you, share their music, etc. as your way of learning “Black culture”. (They can offer to, but don’t demand it for your own education.)
2. Express self-righteous outrage to Black people on what “your people” have suffered
3. Believe Canadians aren’t racist and we’re heroes because of the Underground Railroad (read this gruesome story about Marie-Joseph Angélique, if you can handle it…)
4. Stop learning after Black History Month ends

JEDI SUPPORT & RESOURCES

Check out the Resource Library on my website for a list of recommended reading and other anti-racism resources (continually in progress).

To get you started, here is an excellent timeline of U.S. history: https://www.dismantlingracism.org/history.html

Also, the Government of Canada has an online repository of biographies of some notable Black individuals who have helped shape Canadian heritage and identity: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month/black-canadians.html

Here’s one biography from that website:

The Story of Viola Davis Desmond

Viola Davis Desmond (1914–1965) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was an African-Canadian who ran her own beauty parlor and beauty college in Halifax. On November 8, 1946, while waiting for her car to be repaired, she decided to go see a movie in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow. She refused to sit in the balcony, which was designated exclusively for Blacks. Instead, she sat on the ground floor, which was for Whites only. She was forcibly removed and arrested.

Viola was found guilty of not paying the one-cent difference in tax on the balcony ticket. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and paid a $26 fine. The trial mainly focused on the issue of tax evasion and not on the discriminatory practices of the theatre. Dissatisfied with the verdict, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, with Viola’s help, took the case to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The conviction was upheld.

Eventually, Viola Desmond settled in New York where she died.

NEXT ON THE JEDI JOURNEY

The very last LinkedIn Live in this series on bias and discrimination in job search and recruiting is happening this Wednesday, February 2! Last week, we talked about various ways the traditional recruiting practice discriminates against marginalized candidates, e.g. the Cone of Silence, Gated Community Effect, Power Imbalance, and Unequal Burden of Proof.

This week, we wrap up with possibly the worst offender of a biased system – resumes (and cover letters). Join me and Allie Knull, Founder and CEO of ResumeFree as we dig into why resumes need to be a thing of the past – and better ways for the future.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

ICYMI, all of the LinkedIn Live recordings are now up on my website for a limited time under the “Recruit More Inclusively” section: https://www.changinglenses.ca/trainingvideos

And this week’s will be too, once finished.

I’d love your feedback and insights on any of the sessions you watched! Please email me at: [email protected].

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