We Are The Ones

It. Is. A. Time. These days, most of my conversations begin this way. The pain and weight of the chaos, the threat, the fear, the downright ugly - no matter what you steeled yourself for on January 20th - are profound. It’s everywhere, this heaviness. At dinner, at work, in our communities, our kids bring it home from school. And weren’t we already depleted, clocking in our years, our decades, of resistance and relentlessness in moving equity work forward? And how we spent ourselves, in all the ways - physical, financial, spiritual - in the quest to prove something different was possible!

I’ll be very honest. I am struggling! It’s felt too daunting some days to lift my chin up and gaze beyond my laptop, my family, the safe bubble I enjoy with our kindred Axis colleagues, candidates, and partners. But deep in my heart where ancestral wisdom lives, I know something else is true, and I am reminded of this truth by all the brilliant women of color we have the gift of being in community and conversation with every day: We know how to do this. This artful, powerful, sometimes subtle - often subversive - resistance and transformation. We’ve done it through the ages and we will again.?

This community reminds me of something else also. The only way through this time is with care, with healing, with rest, with gentleness and with each other, as we rediscover the fortitude we’ve always had.?

I founded Axis Talent Partners 13 years ago, with incredible collaborators and partners, with a simple and full-hearted mission - to center us. To elevate Black and Brown folks in a way they had not been historically in talent recruitment and leadership development. This was our one small way to disrupt racism and bend our social impact sector toward truer justice.?

We hold this mission still. We always will. And this Black History Month, we are here. Here to continue centering equity in all that we do.? Here to celebrate the black leaders we are honored to support along their career journeys. Here to spotlight the organizations making a difference for marginalized communities. Here to do the holding, healing, seeing, naming, convening and safe space-making work that is required of us all now.?

We invite you to join us as we practice self-compassion. As we create opportunities to come together to deepen our practice and resource each other. We are the beloved community we seek. We’ve got this. We’ve got each other. We remain the ones we've been waiting for.?

Reach out to us and let us know what we can do together.?

Laura Donald, Founder & CEO, Axis Talent Partners