The Justice Walk Travelog - June 2022

Centering Equity, Justice, and Belonging

June 02, 2022

Leadership coaching rooted in equity and justice

A Black female legisaltor speaks from the middle of a room. Other legislators stand around and behind her in support.

State Rep. Toni Walker, D- New Haven, during a Wednesday debate over a bill to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday. Photo Credit: Julia Bergman / Hearst Connecticut Media Group

This month's walking:The CT legislature passed legislation declaring Juneteenth a state holiday on the last day of our legislative session this year. The Black legislators, Toni Walker, Robyn Porter, and Corey P. Paris, who spoke about this bill and the meaning of Juneteenth expended a lot of emotional labor explaining what Juneteenth means generally and to them, personally. I'm grateful for their willingness to do that work.

This should be a moment of celebration. It is that.

The celebration is tempered though. During the floor discussion, Black legislators were told by a "supporter" of the bill that: Juneteenth is an American holiday, not a Black holiday; disparities don't come from discrimination and; the three-fifth's compromise was a good thing, a stepping stone towards the end of slavery.

A non-Black person discarded and disparaged Black people's experiences, knowledge, and wisdom.

To a large extent, it doesn't matter who that individual is. This isn't an individual problem.

Yes, we all need to educate ourselves, interrogate our beliefs, question who told us the things we think we know. Who is served by that narrative? What is the narrative told by those with the least amount of power, etc.? We need to stop invalidating and gaslighting people, especially Black women, when they tell us their experiences.

And we exist in systems, institutions, and structures that create and thrive on a pecking order of power with white, cis-het, wealthy, men at the top. Those systems teach us to, and reward us for, invalidating the experiences and knowledge of anyone who isn't at the top of that pyramid. (Hat tip to Orisha Ala Nzambi Ochumare for teaching me about Bobbie Harro's cycle of socialization)

The real work is in dismantling those systems, institutions, and structures to build communities of belonging, care, respect, and opportunity for all to thrive regardless of race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical ability, class, religion, age, etc.

Juneteeth celebrates the systemic dismantling of the institution of slavery. Wins do happen. As the last few weeks have made crushingly clear, there are a lot more wins to get.Note: I appreciate the way CT Mirror journalist Mark Pazniokas covered this floor discussion. You can read his reporting here. 

Terror vs Horror

Lori Lobenstine updated her essay on the difference between terror and horror for a recent issue of the Nonprofit Quarterly newsletter. She writes:

To me the difference between terror and horror exists in the distance and option to look away. Horror exists in my mind, not in my body. Horror is something I can push away or let in, whereas terror comes for its victims. The endless police and vigilante murders of Black and Brown people horrify and deeply sadden me, but they cannot cause me terror. As acts of terrorism, they are not aimed at me.

Lobenstine, a white person, continues with thoughts about what those of us who are horrified vs terrified can do to stop both terror and horror in the future. It's worth checking out.

Book cover is off white with the title centered at the top aobe three, nested, pyramid shaped arrows that are red, orange, and yellow. Bellow that is the subtitle, Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves. The author's name is at the bottom in a red font.

In April, Dr. Shawn Ginwright, PhD, released his latest book, the Four Pivots. Obviously, all four are crucial. I've been thinking a lot about the second pivot, moving from transactional to transformational relationships.

 

On

podcast, Dr. Ginwright said, “You can’t create a transformative relationship with someone else if the team that you are working with is transactional.” When we work on organizational change, the tendency is to look external, "How can we change our programming or services?" That is important work. We have to examine and transform our internal policies and practices, as well, though. We can't ask people to interact with those in the community in ways that are opposite of how they are treated inside the organization.We act out of what's inside. What is inside us? What is inside our organizations? Dr. Ginwright's book is a helpful guide.

a circle with a rainbow inside of it

"The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom."bell hooks

A cement walkway with wooden posts along both sides leads into the distance with water on either side of it. The sky is gray blue.

Closing thoughts:It's been a hard month, friends. No one is "ok." As you can, find ways to take care of yourselves. Lean into love - the kind of love that is a testimony to liberation and the practice of freedom. And as you are "ok" enough to be able, look around for those you can encourage on their journeys. Help them to rest, and grieve, and care-take. We have to walk together - even us introverts.

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