S2, Ep 8: Turning the Fire Inward, Part 1 for Progressives

SEASON 2, EPISODE 8

Turning the Fire Inward, Part 1 for Progressives

[INTRODUCTION]

[0:00:01] JSS: Hey, everybody. This is Joanna Shoffner Scott. You are listening to the Race in the Workplace podcast, a show for DEI organizational leaders that explores race, racism, and racial equity in the workplace. I am a Racial Equity Consultant and Founder of the Stamey Street Consulting Group, a consulting firm that specializes in partnering with organizations to help them meet their racial equity aspirations. My goal for you is to move your organization from being colorblind to equity-centered through sustainable, step-by-step changes.

[EPISODE]

[0:00:38] JSS: Hi, it's Joanna Shoffner Scott here. Thank you for allowing me to join you in your day, no matter when you are listening. Before I dig into the podcast this week, I want to give a special shout-out to Tamaira B, who gave the podcast five stars on Apple Podcasts. Regarding episode four, Tamaira says, “Thank you, Dr. Shoffner Scott. I really enjoyed how Sheri Brady, talked about what equity really looks like and the need to redefine what an expert is.” Thank you, Tamira. I so appreciate you listening.

This week's podcast is called Turning the Fire Inward for Progressives. I want to speak specifically to leaders of progressive and progressive-leaning organizations about what to do when internal dynamics slow down your work in such a way that you are unable to be effective in fulfilling your mission. These thoughts have been on my mind for some time, and I'm finally ready to share them.

Okay, I'm going to organize this conversation into two parts. The first part is the larger ecosystem. The second is the organizational impact. The first part is big umbrella. The second part is more specific to progressive organizations. Shout out to Annie McKay for guidance on the framing of how I talk about this.

All right, I want to start with framing the current context. First of all, I got to say, it certainly feels like DEI is a target. I'm saying that as a practitioner, totally feeling that. At the time I'm recording this podcast, which is late May of 2023, it marks three years since the murder of George Floyd, yet we are in the middle of a full-blown backpedal from many of the gains made from the protests, the advocacy, and the commitments made in 2020. It's disheartening in so many ways, not surprising but disheartening.

There have been so many stories in the news lately. Let me just walk you through just a few of them. By that, I mean recent news stories questioning the advocacy of DEI training, for an example. There was a piece in the New York Times that mentioned this. I'll link to it in the show notes. Other proclamations that “DEI is dead.” There have been a few articles specific to Virginia prompted by the actions of Governor Glenn Youngkin, who ran and won on an anti-CRT platform. CRT is Critical Race Theory. There's been a documented pullback in corporate commitments. I'll link to a piece that I've referenced before from Essence Magazine on that.

I'm hearing anecdotally that there's been a bit of a pullback in philanthropy as well. As I said, not surprising, but certainly disheartening. Saying all of that, as I've said many times. I started in this work before it was an industry as big as it is now. There have always been foundations that believe very much in racial equity and commit their dollars accordingly. Similarly, there have always been organizations that are deeply committed to the work. Yes, it's disheartening, but I always hold on to hope that there are people in the progressive ecosystem that deeply believe in this work.

We are in a moment where DEI is a target similar to the way CRT was targeted for public ridicule. In my opinion, there is a belief among those who hate equity, and I'm going to say it that strongly and hate what it can create in our society, that there's a belief that destroying this particular industry that many of us work in will destroy progressive spaces. I don't know if that's true, it's just my opinion, and I'm entitled to it.

I think that there's something here to grapple with. I think the attack on DEI like the attack on CRT is intentional. I think it's a moment. I was talking to colleagues the other day about this and saying that so many of us, and when I mean us, I mean those of us who do equity work more broadly, whether it's racial, gender, LGBTQIA+, whatever type of equity that you do, a lot of us are ringing the alarm right now. A lot of us are seeing big problems in our world, problems inside organizations that aren't being resolved, and as a result, paralyzing progressive organizations that should be front and center in some of these more public fights.

I'll unpack this more as I go, but you all, that's what's been on my mind lately. As I'm recording this podcast, legislation recently passed in Florida that strips DEI out of higher education as an effort to, and I quote, “Return to colorblind equality.”

Let's unpack the framing here. In my opinion, this framing sets up the argument that somehow DEI is responsible for inequity. I'll say that again. The dominant narrative that I perceive is that somehow DEI as a workplace structure creates inequity between people. Very problematic.

Now let's talk about the other part of the narrative, the return to colorblind equality. When I initially read that you all, I almost fell out of my chair in such a problematic frame, but it sounds good. People who hate equity and want our multiracial society to return to wider times in the past put a lot of weight on equality. I mean, equality is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Recently, I did an interview for a blog called How Stuff Works on the differences between equity and equality. I'll link to it in the show notes. I remember making the point.

Let's say we set equity to the side for just a second. We don't even have colorblind equality in our society right now, nor have we ever. Yet, equality is one of our national values, but in no way are people in similar situations treated the same way across identities, across race, across the board. That doesn't happen. There's a big difference between the national narrative and the actual everyday life of people of a variety of identities or differences in identity. In my opinion, equality in and of itself is yet another unrealized ideal, and to espouse to it is moving the goalpost again towards something that I believe very much hides whiteness.

The framing of the anti-DEI sentiment is problematic and bullshit, if I can be that direct, but it sounds good. This is the current context or at least part of it, that progressive organizations are currently working in, in addition to burnout COVID, and fatigue. There's a lot going on in the environment around progressive organizations.

All right, I want to pivot just a little bit. I've titled this episode, Turning the Fire Inward, and here's what I mean by that. Instead, of working on a shared organizational mission, people have turned the fire that they have toward that mission inward and toward each other. I think this is what we're seeing in so many progressive spaces.

Last year, I read an Intercept article that was circulating called, “Elephant in the Zoom: Meltdowns Have Brought Progressive Advocacy Groups to a Standstill at a Critical Moment in World History.” I read this last year. When I first read it, I thought, “Okay, yeah. I can see some of that for sure, 100%.” But in prepping for this podcast, because I knew I wanted to talk about Turning the Fire Inward, I reread that article and I have a little bit of a different perspective. Here we are as a society for those who identify as progressives, it's a moment. I mean, for real. It's a moment. As I said earlier, so many of us are ringing the alarm right now.

All right. What is the root of what we're seeing in progressive spaces or this disappearance? It's almost a fading back if you will. What's happening? Many progressive organizations tend to be white-led, not always Black, and leaders of color experience these dynamics too. With big public missions, but inside lives all the isms that run unchecked.

When you have that, there's a problem. It's complicated and nuanced, but it's still a problem. What I've found over the years I've been doing the work is that when people feel powerless, disrespected, and excluded from decision-making, it's very difficult to journey toward mission. Without question, staff will either call you out or they will call you in, or both. A lot of what is reflected in that, “Elephant in the Zoom” article is the way people are being treated inside organizations.

I want to be clear, this is not just, “Oh, those pesky kids. Oh, it's those this generation or that generation.” No. People are naming deep structural and persistent problems that have gone unchecked for a long time. How is that powerlessness being dealt with and addressed? Are you asking Black women to do deeply serious, intense, emotionally taxing work, but at the same time, people touching their hair in the office? I mean, come on, you all, come on. As a leader, have you only been willing to name the racism, but not disrupt it, not stop it?

That disingenuous disconnect is what has given so much fodder to those who hate equity, in my opinion. I think people who leave progressive organizations got to get real and got to get real, real quick about equity and what it's going to look like in your organizations. You can't hold on to old organizational norms that get in the way of fulfilling your mission at this important moment in history. For some of you all listening, your organizations were founded for this moment, but where are you? Where are you? I think folks are stuck. In a lot of places, status quo is what's keeping you stuck.

All right, I want to talk about how it plays out in organizations. How do these patterns play out in organizations? Going from the macro now to the micro.

If you are leading a progressive organization, I want you to turn the volume up, because I think this is an important part to pay attention to. My colleague, Eileen Garcia, wrote a blog post recently called, “The Backlash to Workplace DEI.” Very thoughtful article. I'll link to it in the show notes. There are gems in that writing and I will discuss a few of them now.

Eileen's piece names that while the industry of DEI is relatively new, the work of racial equity is not and has been going on for a very, very long time. While it's had different names, abolition, civil rights, anti-racism, whatever you call it, it's been going on for as long as inequity has been going on. It has been about addressing oppression created by systemic wrongs. We all know the inequity in this country has been going on for well before the founding. Quite a long time.

Eileen also notes that the public statements from organizations around the murder of George Floyd were everywhere, and they were. They were everywhere. Everybody was making a statement. Everyone was making a commitment. We also saw the commodification of DEI. In some ways, as Eileen notes, that was helpful and useful. That racism wasn't just something to talk about, but rather both the non-profit and for-profit sectors felt the pressure to address it. They addressed it by investing in consultants and in-house professionals who could create systems to address inequities in a range of workplace practices, including those types of culture. That was directly from Eileen's piece.

This is really the crux of it, right here. I'm going to read this part as well. While investing in organizational culture was not new, centering bias in the discussion felt radically different. Moving culture conversations into this sphere of DEI was an acknowledgment of the elephant in the room of much of the previous organizational culture work. More than a ping-pong table and casual Fridays, organizations seeking positive culture must understand their power dynamics, create true inclusion, and enact policies that counteract bias in workplace rewards and punishments. That's it, right there. Over the last few years, it has almost felt mainstream for organizations to set out and do that. But for many who began these efforts, setting out on the path was as far as they were willing to go on the journey.

When I read this for the first time, you all, those words let off the screen at me for Eileen's work. The focus on racial equity in this experience within an organization's cultural context, that's the new part. Progressive organizations like many other types of organizations have challenges. As long as you have people with different backgrounds coming together to work on something shared, you're going to have conflict. Particularly, if you have no policies, practices, or protocols to help manage those interactions. That's a given that's going to happen. What DEI did was name what was already there. DEI doesn't create inequity, it names it. This naming dynamic is playing out in organizations and movements and in schools.

Now, when you couple this with generational differences within progressive spaces, that adds a whole other layer. In the past, I think people suffered through non-profit spaces. I know I have, and accepted that if you're working in a non-profit, there's a certain amount of implicit bias, there's a certain amount of racism that you have to deal with in order to do the work that you love. Now, people are no longer willing to live with all of those isms as they pursue work that matters to them. For most people when an organization's values don't line up with their own values, that's the automatic deal breaker, people are out.

These generational differences name a structural issue. To Eileen's point, to stop at merely naming and starting the journey, that's as far as some people are willing to go. That's status quo right there, but guess what? This isn't a moment for that. This is a moment where more is needed and many progressive organizations aren't up to it. That's just the truth. Now, does that mean you have to stay in that place? Absolutely not. Because I deeply believe every day is an opportunity to make different, more equitable choices in the work that you do.

All right, so now what? I've talked about what I see as the paralysis in progressive spaces that is caused by unresolved isms that have been named, but not much else has happened. That's playing out inside organizations, so people are again, turning the fire inward. That's the context. We also have a DEI, anti-DEI, if you will, environment around us. That's also part of the context. We also have fatigue. We've got people retiring. We've got COVID. That's also part of the context. There's a lot going on in the progressive ecosystem.

Then you've got many of these things also happening inside organizations. Then you've got people who are leading organizations who feel very stuck and who are blaming generational challenges on what's happening. It's not in the people. It's not in the people. It's in the structures that have been allowed to persist. That are playing out in organizations all over the country, progressive organizations all over the country. Okay, because this is a podcast that always focus on the practical. I want to leave you with some things that I think you can do.

Moving through this moment will not be easy, but can help you get unstuck. If you are a president, vice president, executive director, or a person with power and you recognize your organization and what I'm saying, here's what you need to do. This is my opinion. First thing, spring into action and decide whether or not you're going to go beyond naming to actually do something about the isms that people are experiencing inside your organization. Be honest, if your response is, this is as far as I'm willing to go, everything's great. It's X people who are causing problems, best of luck because your organization will remain where is and will continue to spin out.

This is why I emphasize internal equity first before doing external work, because if you move forward with the external promises, external commitments, and all of that stuff first, your internal processes, operations, and organizational climate will remain problematic. That disconnect is not sustainable for an organization that wants to effectively live into a mission. It never has been, never will be. So, if this is you, and this is your organization, you got to move past naming. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. Will it make you more effective? Yes. Let me also say that doesn't mean creating a new diversity initiative. What it means is making a commitment to do your work differently.

The second thing that I want you to do is to accept that most workplaces have a generational divide. They do. That makes it even more important to revisit organizational values and communicate clear expectations because people have different expectations of work, you have to create a shared expectation of what work is at your organization and you have to be consistent. As a leader, you can't complain. It just that expects too much from work when you describe employees as family, employees aren't family. Times have shifted and so our management has to shift too.

Okay, the third thing. I think that the failure in progressive spaces to address racism, that it so aptly names, is in part giving fodder to those who despise equity and are working to return us to whiter times. The failure to acknowledge our own complicitness gives power to those arguments. We need everybody pulling on the arc to bend it. I talk about this in episode five, When Fatigue Sets In.

We need everybody in the fight. We need everybody's contribution to uphold our democracy. We are in a moment, friends. We are in a moment and many progressive organizations haven't necessarily lived into it. However, I believe deeply that there is always the opportunity with each passing day to do things differently. To admit, yes, we created this mess. This was not our greatest moment, but we're going to pivot. We need our advocacy organizations. We need all of you because there is real danger and real harm happening right now. All right, thank you for letting me say all that. Until next time, take the best of care.

[OUTRO]

[0:20:55] JSS: That's this week's episode of Race in the Workplace. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast and share it with a friend who may be a DEI professional. Who can use these strategies in their work? My hope for the podcast is that it reaches every person who needs it. Until next time, take care.

[END]