What I've learned from the failure of allyship and leaders during BLM and how to better lead with care

It's been over 3 years since 'black square summer' when the murder of George Floyd saw social media accounts flooded with a sea of black squares and statements in solidarity for Black lives from organisations and individuals. Sports players were taking the knee. Supermarket chains were bickering with racist individuals in the comments on Twitter, D&I roles came and went quicker than I can finish typing this sentence. It was quite a time. And as I reflect on many things this Black History Month, I wonder, given the swift removal of budgets to focus on initiatives that tackle anti-blackness. I wonder, given that according to Cambridge University Black Voices Report 88% of Black people still experience racism at work, if those declarations of solidarity were more about brand management and being seen to being on the 'right' side of history, rather than meaningfully wanting to take steps to address systemic racism and changing workplace culture.

As I recently heard Dr. Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu say:

people were in solidarity with the hashtag, not the people

As many watch in horror as the humanitarian crisis continues to unfold in Gaza, I'm seeing the same with statements to stand in solidarity with Palestinians and to stand with Israel and what sits in the inbetween of all these statements, are human beings, peers and colleagues in socially persecuted identities, struggling, like many of us, to process what is going on and somehow still be expected to function at work.

In Summer 2020 - many organisations approached me to deliver talks or workshops for majority white teams, on anti-racism or how to be allies and when I asked what support was being provided for staff racialised as Black (re: those closest to the suffering), most hadn't even considered the well-being of their Black staff and providing support for them. Instead, they were asking Black staff to labour and teach non-Black staff about racism and their lived experience, it was deeply unsafe. I can sense the same thing will be happening with colleagues in Palestinian, Muslim and Jewish identities over the coming weeks, as anti-muslim hate and antisemitism rises. Please don't make the same harmful mistakes so many did during BLM.

How are you taking care of your staff wellbeing right now?

Anti-racism is so often mistaken as an academic or intellectual exercise or knowing what words to say. As a benchmark, it requires humility, honesty, brave leadership, but mostly treating your fellow peers who experience racism with care and proper safeguarding. Especially during crisis. But the truth is, most freeze (normal response) or enter into a state of panic or performance, which is where knee jerk decisions and empty solidarity statements and the risk of further harm ensues.

Building on this compassionate post from Hani Al-Dajane - and drawing on my professional experience working in mental health crisis management and learning from the failures to adequately support Black staff during summer 2020 (and beyond it) - Here's some ideas on how to be more skilled, so you can better support staff impacted by social suffering - today:

1. Firstly I cannot express this more as this was totally underestimated in 2020 - you are dealing with human beings and you are also dealing with trauma.It’s not just business as usual for some. Trauma impacts sleep, ability to focus, mood, capacity for empathy, appetite, increases anxiety, impacts digestive systems. Infact, trauma impacts every single system in your body - you fundamentally need to prioritise staff wellbeing during this time.
2. Focus on helping people be with/ process their feelings, NOT get drawn into debate about who’s right and wrong.
3. If you choose to host group discussion to support folks with how to process what is happening in the world, you need to work with trauma experts / trauma informed facilitators. Not everyone is equipped to deal with this, nor should we expect them to be. And more importantly - it is unsafe not to do so.
4. Allow people to take mental health days and if they aren’t in your policy - they absolutely should be - time to relook at it.
5. Over the next week or so - give people, especially those from communities closest to the suffering, autonomy over their needs. For example: later starts in the day (some people will be having disordered sleeping, others may want to attend vigils or protests) Options to work from home where possible or a temporary removal from front facing roles - so they don’t have to expose themselves to environments that may be hostile and some may be feeling incredibly unsafe.
6. Please do not make things up as you go along and put traumatised/ dysregulated/ uninformed staff in socially persecuted identities, in positions where they now need to educate dominant groups, it is UNSAFE. Prioritise their wellbeing. Bring in experts to advise and support you.
7. Communicate and consult with your staff closest to the suffering, about what they need to be able to feel safe at work, to do their job during times of crisis or if they need time away. Don't assume. What traumatises / impacts one person may not impact another and some will want to talk and some will want to just put their head down and crack on. Communication and follow up is key.
8. Remind staff of wellbeing services available in and outside of work - share and seek out services that are culturally competent, because many mental health services, including those workplaces often provide (time to relook at your providers) - sadly are not:Muslim Counselling and Psychotherapist NetworkThe Black, African and Asian Therapist NetworkBlack Minds MatterJami (A mental health service for the Jewish community)Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre
9. Especially when words don’t come, wellbeing support can also come in many other forms for example: Painting, tai chi, colouring, cooking, creating/ making, creative writing workshops, singing, meditation, collaging (the list goes on)

What would you add?

Improving knowledge is imperative to improving workplace culture. Yes, talks can add huge value, but from my experience, one-off workshops cannot be a serious or long term solution to systemic issues. Systemic issues need ongoing resource and holistic approaches to tackle cultural change.

I understand the urgency to do everything now - we are way behind and racism at work is a real problem, but the urgency of white supremacy to fix everything in a day, or even a year, was completely unacceptable during summer 2020 - it encouraged knee jerk decisions and a total lack of discernment.

Now is the time to be vigilant. When bringing in experts, do not conflate folks with large social media followings with authority on a subject, large follower count does not always equate to credibility. How long have they been around for? Is their message consistent? Ask around. Take some time to do your research, find the grassroots organisations and people, who have consistently been tackling this work.

Experts in niche fields will be in demand, so if you didn’t prioritise anti-racism work before, you’ll probably have to wait. There’s no one way and there's no one organisation to solve systemic issues, there’s books, documentaries and other skills building learning aids that can also support your efforts. AND while you're doing this, it is imperative that you prioritise the wellbeing of your staff.

Much love and please lead with care during these times.

Nova

NB: It's been years since I wrote a Linkedin article - you can find my most recent pieces over on Substack - please do join me there.

My book The Good Ally can be found in libraries, Audible and all good bookstores and for further resources, videos and information on my work visit www.novareid.com