Nonprofit Leaders: No IF-pologies, AND-ditions, or BUT-tressings About It... Why Are You Slithering Into Racism?

I’m sorry IF I offended you. We stand with BLM and Stop AAPI Hate AND we enjoy fish tacos and some of our best friends are Jewish. We recognize our white privilege may have caused minority groups to be upset with us, BUT we do not believe we have been insensitive because we have no memory of having been so.

Slithering into racism.

Harry Shearer, a marvelous actor, radio host, author, and raconteur, coined the word “If-pology” as part of his longstanding radio show, Le Show. It describes an apology that is conditional on someone having been offended by something a perpetrator does or says, as opposed to actually regretting having done or said something wrong. As Paul Oestreicher wrote in 2017:

One of the classic [if-pologies] is back in the news, with new talk about the authenticity of the infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape leaked before [the 2016] presidential election. One of the remarks candidate Trump made was: “I apologize if anyone was offended.”

But there are more, as detailed above: “And-ditions” are relatively long, well-meaning statements that are better left unsaid. They tend to reek of tokenism or the Shakespearean notion of protesting too much. From Blue Nile, a Seattle-based e-tailer of jewelry:

?  Did you cringe at the mention of the national holiday, Martin Luther King Day? Why or why not? It’s a national holiday, after all. Do you think they already recognized it, or had it been demoted to “3-Day Weekend/Big Sale” status?

?  What about the whole future tense heading, “We will invest in building a more diverse employee base and inclusive culture?” Can you conclude that they never noticed?

?  Finally, “…not only good for our community, but also they are good for our business.” Does that mean doing the right thing is only happening because they think the bottom line will be better off? What if DEI programs decrease profits? Wouldn’t they still be the right thing to do?

“But-tressing” is when you refuse to admit anything was ever wrong. Instead, you start by saying that aggrieved parties should generally protest bad treatment, BUT you don’t recall having treated them badly, no matter what they say.

“I fully support a woman’s right to come forward, and I believe it should be encouraged in every way,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently, feeling the heat of reports of a panoply of allegations of impropriety in the workplace from several different women. “I know now that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. [But] it was unintentional…and frankly, I am embarrassed.”

Here’s one from Matt Lauer, also accused of inappropriate behavior toward women in the workplace at NBC:

“Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized, but there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed.”

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Why is all this important?

Let’s look at your brand-new, board-approved, diversity manifesto. If you don’t have one handy, here are some highlights and bullet points from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MIA), just 20 minutes away on the 11 Bus, from where George Floyd was murdered at 38th and Chicago:

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

1. Inclusion: While diversity always exists in social systems, inclusion and equity must be fostered. At MIA, we do this by cultivating an environment where people feel supported and listened to, and are able to do their personal best. As a museum with a global collection, it is our mission and responsibility to ensure that our employees, trustees, interns, and volunteers demonstrates cultural competence, and that our collections and programming reflect and respond to diverse needs, interests, and cultures of our communities here in Minneapolis and beyond.
2. Diversity: At MIA, diversity is defined as the characteristics and attributes that make each of us unique at the individual or group level. Diversity has many dimensions, including but not limited to gender identity and expression, race, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and age; as well as cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, life experiences, skills, thoughts, perspectives, and ideas.
3. Equity: Equity involves acknowledging diversity, celebrating what makes us unique, and working together to eliminate barriers that prevent participation of all people and communities. Building equity requires that we seek an understanding of the underlying causes of disparities within our society, and strive to address and overcome them, in order to fulfill our commitment to providing equal opportunities in our employment and other practices.

Some major “and-ditions” here. Lots of adjectives and nouns. Much “seeking” and “striving.” No benchmarks. Without them, there’s a lot of slithering room.

Now, let’s look at the gold standard for actions devoted to the anti-racist movement in the arts in America, We See You White American Theatre. Here are just a few benchmarks and bullet points.

1. As the global majority, we demand a bare minimum of 50% BIPOC representation in programming and personnel, both on and off stage.
2. Invest in us in our own spaces, and provide BIPOC artists and our infrastructures free rein over your spaces and budgets so we may do our work on our own terms.
3. We demand BIPOC critics, marketing reps and PR consultants cover our shows, as well as those by white artists.

Lots of action verbs: demand, provide, invest, etc. They’re not wrong in demanding these calls to action. After the playing field has been nearly vertically tilted away from BIPOC artists in the infrastructures of well-intentioned white organizations such as MIA and all those arts organizations in YOUR neighborhood (your own organization, perhaps?), isn’t it time to lift up that side of the field?

And if you feel that white artists will fall victim to some mythical “reverse discrimination” (no, it does not exist), can you imagine what BIPOC artists have felt for many unaccountable, unfair, and unfathomably long years?

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If you need help figuring out the best way to be effective as a nonprofit, let alone as an arts organization, shoot me an email at [email protected]. And for more information on services, just visit 501c3.guru or call me at (425) 298-6099 between the hours of 9am and 5pm (Pacific Time), Monday through Friday.