The Justice Walk Travelog - March Meandering 2024

Leadership support rooted in equity and justice

In Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian, Hestia talks with Percy, "Not all powers are spectacular," she says, "Sometimes the hardest power to master is the power of yielding."It knocked the wind out of me. Capital "T" truths can sneak up on us from unlikely places.Power is a critical topic in equity and belonging work. First, recognizing and acknowledging the power we have. Then, understanding what impact that power has, whether we know it or not. Ultimately, learning to intentionally wield that power in ways that promote equity and belonging.Those of us from culturally dominant groups (white, male, heterosexual, able, wealthy) are typically taught, ironically, either that we don't actually have power and/or that the power we have was earned and should be used to "help" others - think "white savior narrative".We are not taught that yielding is a choice, let alone a powerful choice.Have you been in room with folks talking about "taking space" and "making space"? Or heard about "centering directly-impacted voices" or "de-centering yourself"?Those can be examples of yielding. A white, nonprofit leader, invited to speak on a panel about how to work with directly-impacted communities, who sees that every other invited speaker is also a white, nonprofit leader, has an opportunity to thank the organizer for the invitation and say, "I see you already have folks representing the perspective I can bring, so I'd actually like to recommend you ask my colleague (name of Black, brown, or Indigenous expert you know) who may be a great fit!"*A person who loves to talk in meetings, who is energized by ideas and the back-and-forth may recognize that she is taking up a lot of airtime. She may further notice that directly-impacted folks in that space frequently get fewer chances to speak. It may not feel like a "power-move" to intentionally do more listening and less talking at the next meeting, but it is.*Yielding as a power. What do you think?I'd love to hear your stories about opportunities to yield - whether you recognized them in the moment or look back now as lessons for how you'll hope to respond differently in the future. *Yes, both of these examples do come from personal growth-opportunities, thanks for asking. ;-)

A local nonprofit is looking for a consultant to help them create a new strategic plan, one that integrates their commitment to equity and equitable practices.The following sentence appears at the end of the Request for Proposal (RFP);“There is no expressed or implied obligation for [ORGANIZATION] to reimburse responding firms for any expenses incurred in preparing proposals in response to the request or for attending any meetings or conferences related to preparing or presenting proposals.“I am not naming the organization because this language is pretty standard. My goal is to "call in" the field, not this one group.You may not see the issue. I probably wouldn't have until I was steeped in equity work and a consultant myself. Read it again and think about what the RFP, and then this specific paragraph says:

• We have a unique need/problem.

• Please develop a report that reflects your understanding of: our organization; our unique needs and; your approach to meeting our needs

• While we understand that it will take you time and energy to develop these answers and that you may need to meet with us to get more information to fulfill this request, we will not pay you for any of this time or expert advice.

At that point, whether the organization hires you or not, it still has access to all of your ideas about how to approach their problem without having paid you anything.Do you see the issues here?It gets worse. Most of the organizations with these boilerplate paragraphs also include statements "strongly encouraging" traditionally marginalized people to apply. They want to work with small businesses, Black-owned businesses, Queer-owned businesses, businesses owned by disabled folks, etc.Obviously, there is some understanding of systemic issues that result in some folks having more and easier access to opportunities than others.That understanding does not go far enough to recognize that those very systemic injustices mean those same folks will typically have less easy access to loans, capital and cash-flow.  They have less ability to work for free and/or work now and get paid for it later.(Frankly, even the multi-national, big-ticket consulting firms shouldn't provide their labor for free.)If you are asking folks to do work for you - pay them. If you are particularly asking traditionally marginalized folks to do work for you, definitely pay them.

Heartfelt appreciation to all those who reached out after reading last month's column about me being "not ok." Thank you for the various ways you showed your care and support. This month is better. Let's normalize checking on our people. And asking our people to check on us. It matters.

Quick reminder to follow me on Linked In - button below.Have a question? Drop me a line at [email protected]