The paradox of doing for ourselves

Last year, I attended the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Branded the Oscars of the creative ad industry world, the gathering serves to inspire and recognise the array of talent and creativity that exists. Yet one thing stood out - the overwhelming whiteness of most of the spaces I entered.

Despite the fact that the event was supposed to celebrate the best talent and most creative minds, Black people were significantly underrepresented in the audience and on stages (aside from as entertainers).

Where we were overrepresented? As waiters, waitresses, hosts, and security guards, I watched as the majority majority white attendees barely gave these employees a second look. Even to clock the visual difference of who was drinking champagne versus who was serving it.

It was disappointing familiar.

[For 2023 there are a group of exceptional Black leaders across the globe who are actively working on making these years' experience far more inclusive. On our terms. Shout out to Black in Cannes!]

Taking note

"We really need to do something about this."

I heard a few talks about the importance of diversity and inclusion and the need for representation.

Lofty statements, that were well-intentioned, yet the ratio of talk to action tells a different story.

Change takes time.

We just need to encourage, be patient, and stick with it.

Baby steps.

It will come, if we just wait.

When the majority doesn't understand the problem

"We're listening" we are told.

Finally, we think. Our egos massaged a little at the thought of being the one Black person who is able to cut through an environment of apathy.

So we tell our stories (again), share our experiences (again), and offer up ideas (again). Lots of ideas actually.

Then we wait some more.

And nothing substantial materialises. At least on a grand scale. Another disappointment, but many before us have faced similar challenges. We learn from their tenacity and bravery and some us find ways to take matters into our own hands. Using what we have to try and make a difference.

It may not be deep systemic change, it may not be everyone's liking and it may not be packaged in a way the mainstream are used to. Yet it's empowered progress. We are taking ownership and and responsibility. And it means we are doing something.

Some are in support, kind of. Partly because it allows them to watch without having to actively participate.

"It's amazing what you're doing. I've never understood why you people wait. Don't ask for permission. Uplift yourselves. Do something nice for people who look like you. We'll support you 100% and maybe you'll get a better response."

Others don't like it...

"Why are doing this? Excluding others isn't the answer. We have to work together."

The paradox

What is the paradox in creating spaces for Black professionals and entrepreneurs? Of hosting events that centre us?

The answer is simple: we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't.

You see, when we don't stand up for ourselves and fight for representation and to tackle systemic racism, we're accused of being passive, expecting handouts and/or not doing enough.

But when we do create our own events, awards, and platforms, employee resource groups, we're accused of being exclusionary. Of making a rod off own back.

The truth is, we need these spaces for our psychological safety and to create a sense of community. It's a way for us to show up on our terms and celebrate our culture and the individuals who are doing amazing things (and yes there are plenty of Black professionals who exist outside of diversity and inclusion).

The next hurdle

We are told to ask to help. Many hands make light work as the saying goes.

"We love what you do. We're keen to get involved."

So we ask.

However, that help (if we are lucky to get a response) is often conditional and comes with strings attached. Those strings still reinforces Black people having to ask for permission and present our ideas in a way that is palatable for white decision-makers. The same leaders who make their decision based on how they and others like them see the world, not how we, as people most impacted by racism, experience it.

Not quite dismantling white supremacist power dynamics is it?

Withholding judgement

So, before you criticise, attack or try to derail the individuals and groups trying to make a difference, ask yourself why they need to create these spaces in the first place.

I'm also deeply aware that other communities get together and do similar things to uphold and preserve their religious or cultural identities and they don't seem to get the same backlash.

Everyone experiences challenges in getting their projects and such off the ground. Yet not everyone faces such active and vocal opposition.

Funny that.

I would love to work alongside people and organizations who can embrace different cultures, different ways of doing things and actively work on dismantling systemic racism.

Embracing difference on its own isn't enough. Increasing representation isn't enough.

So until that happens, we continue as we are.

Taking personal responsibility to do as well as talk, in whatever way we can.

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If this article resonated with you, you'll hear more of what empowered action looks and feels like during the Advancing Racial Equity Conference virtual conference I'm hosting on the 21 Feb 2023 from 1pm (GMT).

For more details visit: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/7002317178205003776

In addressing systemic racism in the workplace, accomplished HR strategist Shereen Daniels pulls no punches.???

A gifted speaker, educator and entrepreneur, her direct, yet compassionate approach have seen her twice recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice and former winner of HR Magazine's Most Influential Thinker.??

As the bestselling author of The Anti-Racist Organization: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Workplace (Wiley, 2022), Managing Director of anti-racism advisory firm?HR rewired, Chair of her charitable foundation?The African Diaspora Economic Inclusion Foundation?and Senior Advisor to?Lansons, Shereen is called upon as the go-to personality on both sides of the Atlantic to support executive board and senior HR leadership teams tackle the complex, nuanced and often uncomfortable dialogue surrounding racism in the workplace.??