The Justice Walk Travelog - April 2022

Leadership coaching rooted in equity and justice

The Senegal bichirs fish can breathe on land. It develops like a land animal if forced to grow up out of the water.

This Month's Walking...

The other day a coaching partner told me that her equity journey had her feeling like a fish out of water. She was uncomfortable, uncertain if she was going to do or say the right thing.She got me thinking.  People like me recommend "getting comfortable being uncomfortable" a lot.  Maybe we should start saying, "Get comfortable feeling like a fish out of water."In this case, the water represents the "way things are." The ways that prioritize white comfort, created by and for white, wealthy, men. That water is actively harmful, more so to some than others.  We need to stop breathing it. It is making us sick - even if we don't know it yet.We are told that if we leave the water, the air will kill us (Big Water - White Supremacy - has phenomenal marketing and reach).  When we are out of water we hold our breath in a misguided attempt to stay alive, needlessly suffering from a lack of oxygen. The truth is, when we start taking big gulps of air, we realize that we're breathing better, and more deeply than we ever have before.  Why? Well, because we aren't fish.  We are land animals.  We were created to breathe air.Getting out of the water is hard.  It's scary.  We spend our first breaths gasping and flailing about.  But it's healthier for us in the air.  After a while we realize how much better life is on land, breathing the air we were designed to breath. And, as each one of us steps out of water we have more hands available to reach back in to support others as they step out as well. They see us breathing air and realize they can do it too.This is not a perfect metaphor. In some areas of my growth I'm on land, breathing air. In other areas I'm struggling half in and half out of the water, gasping and flopping around. I'm sure there are also ways I'm still completely blind to the water all around me. Every day we get a new opportunity to choose to leave the fishbowl, walk on land, and get our oxygen from the air. May we all have the courage and connection we need to make that daily choice and travel this road together.Walk on!Abby

 P.S. There's more info on my website here! There are some slots available this spring and summer for those looking for 1:1 coaching, so reach out if you'd like more info!

Danosky and Associates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nonprofits - Panel Discussion

In February, I joined Jenora Ledbetter from The Self Care Network and Duane Pierre from ParaDYM Academy on a webinar panel on "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nonprofits," hosted by Sharon Danosky of Danosky and Associates.As you can see in the still photo, while the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion in nonprofits, especially relating to boards of directors, is a serious one, we had a lively conversation and even a few laughs.I'd encourage you to check it out!(Big hat tip to Sharon for the invite!)

The Last Slave Ship, by Ben Raines, tells the story of the slave ship Clotilda and:

• the bet that led to her journey;

• the men who paid for and carried out her illegal mission;

• how they eluded any consequences for their actions;

• the enslaved people who were kidnapped and transported to America;

• how those people made lives and grew a community after the Civil War ended their enslavement and;

• the underwater archeology effort that finally rediscovered this historical vessel.

This is a fascinating piece of history. The ship's owner blatantly flouted the law, certain that he was above it, and the courts at the time proved him right.  There are frighteningly close parallels to what happens in court now for those who are powerful, wealthy, and white.The stories of those enslaved, from their time in their African homes, on the ship itself, and the lives they made in Alabama for generations after slavery ended (continuing today) are the deep, rich, heart-breaking, and hopeful center of the book.You can order here if you'd like to check it out. Or, of course, check your local library!

I did not "snub" Kate Middleton.

But Jamaica needs more than royal regrets over slavery. by Lisa Hanna

Lisa Hanna, a Jamaican MP and UN Development Programme goodwill ambassador, wrote

this piece

for The Guardian after Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge visited her country in March. I appreciate her explanation of the way she can respect the royals as individual people, while pushing for the institution of Britain and the Royal Family to do better and more regarding the impact of enslavement, colonialism, etc.It's a 5-10 minute read and made me think. Maybe it will do the same for you.