Reflect, rest, restore - and take action

Last week I reached peak burnout.

Not because of work (I refuse to let work get my sanity), but because I find us sliding back. I'm having deja vu of conversations from the spring and summer of 2020, when we found ourselves in lockdown - overwhelmed, exhausted, confused - and still unwilling to speak up and take action.

That spring I was on a zoom happy hour (remember those?!?  what were we thinking!!) and a White woman in philanthropy, frustrated with the conversation on racial equity, said out loud - that she simply had too much in her life to now-have-to-pay-attention-to the racial justice movements. The expectation to engage and learn (and read the news) was unrealistic.

Sigh.

No one on the call challenged her, called her in, offered a different perspective. We all simply moved on.

I come back to that moment because the bar for people with privilege is so low. I come back to that moment because, phew, we care more about preserving our reputation than calling-in our peers. I come back to that moment because politeness and comfort > action. I come back to that moment again, and again, and again because the apathy and indifference breaks my heart.

I know we are all negotiating work, family and so much more.

And action on the most pressing social issues of our time can't be elusive. We can't business-as-usual the rise in poverty (50% of Americans!), lack of housing, food insecurity mass layoffs, corporate greed driven inflation, and the uniquely American insanity that is gun violence.

As your partner/friend/colleague/co-conspirator in advancing, I'm begging you to take individual and collective action. 

White cis folks, caucus. The responsibility for dismantling systemic inequities doesn’t solely rest with BIPOC, trans and other marginalized communities. Invest in your education and caucus/meet internally with other white and white-identifying folk. Build shared vocabulary, socialize anti-racist resources.

Experiment with action learning. Don’t let white dominant culture tendencies of perfection or the right to comfort get in the way of action. Step out of paralysis with organizational action that can be implemented in 30-days and incorporate the learning immediately. Utilize this strategy to move outside of existing hierarchies to empower staff to lead and help make sense of these times to pivot.

Proactively offer paid-time-off and create mental health-days. Yes, we are all negotiating the urgency of work and the mental health of your employees/team. Offer time-off for recovering and recentering. Create ‘no-meeting-days’ for the entire time. Schedule emails to go out during the work-day-only.

Organization-wide acknowledgment of secondary trauma being experienced by BIPOC/Trans/Immigrant colleagues. The violence experienced by marginalized communities is not new or novel - and we are watching in real time, coordinated attacks on the rights of people of color, queer/trans folks, children and educators. The list is long. And while you can't dismantle these systems overnight (or may be you can, but the laundry needs you more), you can validate the trauma and signal that you are aware of their reality. 

Resource ERGs. This is not the time to defund, underfund, or close down employee resource groups (ERGs) or other internal advocacy organizations. These groups are the best way to get closer to the issues being faced by historically marginalized groups - invest instead in listening tours with these groups and pay the organizers.

Making it through these challenging times will require a tidal shift in our awareness, pushing through discomfort to take action, and mirroring the resilience that marginalized communities display every day. 

10 years from now when you look back at this moment - will you be proud of your actions? If not, do the things that will.