Fighting Racism in the Workplace

Today Dr. Ibram X. Kendi shared the following on twitter:

photo text: "To those joining the fight against racism on #FightRacism Day, be prepared. Defenders of racial inequity and injustice will try to discredit *you* as the problem. They want people seeing *you* as dangerous rather than racism. They're a distraction. Stay the course. #FightRacism "

This is an excellent reminder! We also need to take note of how defenders of racial inequity and injustice appear in the workplace. It isn't always someone spewing hate or verbally vilifying you; it often appears in more subtle ways. Here are some common ways that defenders of racial inequity appear in the workplace:

Colorblind Narrative

These are people who profess that they do not see color. They operate under a sentiment that there is a true meritocracy in the workplace, leaving no room for any possibility that structural racism may have a real impact on some groups. This narrative denies the existence and experiences of racial minorities and is deeply problematic.

Morality Beat Racism

These are your colleagues that argue that people in the workplace are all too nice, so racism couldn't possibly be a problem in your space. This rationale reduces racism to an issue of nice and mean people. Focusing on individuals' morality distracts from the fact that racism is deeply rooted in American society and is upheld by dominant and minority groups. It is a systemic problem that necessitates systemic solutions, not just nice people.

Inauthentic Leadership Support

You have probably seen instances where a leader or organization produces a wonderfully crafted statement of support for a marginalized community or states that they unequivocally take a stance against racism...but there was nothing beyond the statement. This is one of those 'make it make sense' moments. The words are essential, but the corresponding action is also necessary. This type of distraction is discouraging and makes organizational efforts to combat racism difficult and more likely to fizzle. When there is a visible misalignment between the words and actions of leadership, those in the organization begin to clearly understand the extent to which fighting racism is important to leadership. In the words of James Baldwin, "I can't believe what you say because I see what you do."

Tokenism

We see racism play out in organizations through the notable lack of diversity, especially at the most senior levels. Some may argue that there isn't racism because they know one Black person in a leadership role, or the company hired an Asian woman as a VP, or there is a new CFO that is Latinx. These few examples fail the test of racism resolution; hiring a few candidates from minoritized communities to give the appearance of equality is tokenism. These few hires are still not representative of the population; hiring one minoritized candidate does not negate the need to address structural racism. Additionally, these hires are often performative, and thought is not given to aspects like inclusion, resources, and power. The lack of strategically addressing the issue usually results in higher employee turnover rates.

Intent over Impact

People are prone to defend their actions; this decenters the impact. This practice also positions the offender as the victim and further victimizes the actual victim. This distraction is a common racial gaslighting trope; 'it can't be racism if someone didn't mean it to be racist, right?' The offender doesn't get to make these decisions, and we have to remember to value impact over intent.

How to Combat the Distractions

We can employ a combination of tactics to help equip us to combat these distractions.

Positionality

Our positionality speaks to the social and political context that creates our identity. Reflecting on our positionality is a good exercise to increase our self-awareness. Understanding our positionality will better clarify how we experience the world and what our biases may be. Further, the more self-awareness we have, the more we increase our ability to understand others. This competency will impact how we interpret and recognize the distractions mentioned above.

Identify what you have control over and influence on

As we persist in fighting against racism, we can increase our impact and decrease our frustration by focusing on those things we control and influence. We can focus on our control and influence by examining our power, context, and access. Racism is a huge issue that requires warriors and champions on all levels, figure out where you fit in the fight.

Center the oppressed

A significant way that these distractions gain traction is by centering the oppressor and not the oppressed. This occurs when the oppressor's feelings are given precedence over those of the oppressed. We can change this by focusing our efforts on the liberation of the oppressed. We can achieve this through the language we use and concentrating on the needs of marginalized groups.

Establish your boundaries

When we encounter defenders of racial inequities, it is draining, frustrating, demoralizing, and enraging. As we aim to persist in this work, we must protect our energy. We can do this by setting boundaries for ourselves around topics we will and will not discuss. There may be times when going back and forth with someone isn't beneficial to your mental health, and that is okay. Additionally, sometimes there is no value in engaging with some people, so the boundary may be that if you feel the encounter will not be fruitful, you don't engage. Our boundaries will vary based on the energy we have to give to different scenarios. Our energy is required to fight racism, so we must be mindful and protective of it.