How to Think Systemically about Racial Equity with the 6P+ Framework
In partnership with Make Communities, we have developed the the 6P+ Racial Equity Framework ® to take organizations from color-blind to equity-centered using a whole-organization approach.
This week, my colleague Anthony Armstrong of Make Communities and I launched our 6P+ Racial Equity Framework. We have been working on it for about three years and felt ready to share it more broadly. If you have worked with me in the past couple of years, you have seen pieces of it.
Check out our new website, https://www.the6pframework.com/.
Y'all, I love a good framework. 🥰
The Backstory
Anthony and I have worked together for almost 10 years. We met around 2015 (or so) because we were consulting (in different capacities) on the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable. Fast forward to 2021.
We were working on a project to build a training for a large government agency when we discovered that our respective and shared clients were struggling in many of the same areas. We grouped the challenges and worked through materials, training, and solutions. Ultimately, all of that work resulted in the 6P+ Racial Equity Framework.
Here, we are recording the launch videos.
Joanna Shoffner Scott and Anthony Armstrong
How I Use the Framework in my Pracatice
By design, it is a cross-cutting, whole-organization approach that supports the development and sustainability of racial equity as a practice.
Not every client needs each part of it to solve their equity problem. The framework is a map — not a script. Much like the journey itself, it is not linear.
For example, if a nonprofit wants to embed racial equity into its decision-making, I can help them identify their why and introduce them to a decision-making tool. That introduction can be in-person, virtual, or through an online or audio course. Maybe that is all that organizaton needs to get to the next place in its journey.
Because Anthony and I have different lived experiences, we have woven those perspectives through the framework and its corresponding parts.
Expected Client Outcomes
I always say that racial equity as a commitment presents leaders with an adaptive challenge. Structural change means examining the systems, processes, tasks, and steps involved in your work. It also requires that we challenge organizational leadership and behaviors.
That said, my approach always starts with the desired outcome. And moving clients from thinking about equity in the context of "Big Moves" and into "Everyday Actions." For many organizations, this is the hardest pivot to make. From transactions to transformation.
Big Moves versus Everyday Actions
Most organizations think about racial equity in the context of Big Moves. Rarely is the Big Move the only move leaders need to make. In fact, the big move without the daily moves can feel hollow to staff and partners.
Looking for Alignment?
Anthony and I built this framework because we kept seeing the same repeat patterns among our respective clients and in our shared work. Structural change requires examining the systems, processes, tasks, and steps involved in our work. But it requires that we challenge organizational leadership and behaviors. The opportunity for leaders is to create a legacy that results in creating workplaces that work for everyone.
If this approach resonates and looks like something you need to move your organization closer to its equity goal, reach out to book a discovery call.
For Helpful Tools:
Chek out my podcast episode:
You can search the Race in the Workplace blog archive by topic
