This is a guest post by Ericka Hines, a.k.a. the Social Change Diva.
“The question is not should we talk about race; the question is HOW to talk race constructively….Talking about race is often considered divisive and unnecessary.”
- john a. powell, Kirwan Institute, Ohio State University, Holding the Whole- Transformative Leadership
The minute I speak about race, my throat tightens, I feel a little on edge and, almost uncontrollably, my fright of flight mode is awakened. And I realize that as an African American woman, the reason that I get that way is because any time I talk about race, I will feel like I am trying to defend my place , my role , my way of being in the place that I have chosen to do my life’s work of working on social change.
Having those emotions can trip me up, make me cranky and create situations where I am unable to even have a conversation without thinking “you cannot understand me because you are not me.” But I know that this is not the way to move any conversation forward, not one about race, gender or any other ism. So I press on.
I refer to the reaction that I have above as my “lens” and I know it’s mine. But what I want to ask you is what is yours?
In the type of work that we do as social change agents, we bring all sorts of “ lens” backgrounds, emotions, reactions to our work that fuel our decision making and the meaning of our work. For the most part those “ lens” allow us to feel the righteous indignation that fuels our work but other times they stand in our way. And when it stands in our way is when I think the work that we do is hurt, the strides we make for our clients are hurt and the strides that we make as a sector are hurt.
A recent situation where I had to put my lens in focus
Two weeks ago, Rosetta wrote this article about racial diversity in the nonprofit sector in the DC area. The information contained in the report mirror the situation that echoed across the country and I was not surprised by any of the results. Simply put, we do not have leaders of color in the nonprofit sector. This is not a shock.
But what I was surprised about is the fact (and I think Rosetta is too) that when we know that this is the case, the comments/discussion that followed her post hit on the themes of “people of color as leaders is still novel” or the “there are enough qualified people to be leaders” or “we don’t know where to hire people of color for these positions”. Haven’t we moved past that already? Isn’t that an argument that has long outlived its utility?
When I read any comments that intimate any of those ideas that I outline above, my lens” is triggered. It becomes very easy for me to drop my jaw and ask “REALLY?” and to feel like anyone who makes that statement does not really want to work at hiring a person of color. What floods through my brain is this:
Do I really believe that this feeling truly reflects the reality of what is happening? Does it move the discussion forward? If I realize that this is what I think right now and it is spurred by my lens, am I open to hearing from other sides?
I try to answer these questions for myself and then force myself to continue to have the discussion.
“We need to talk about race by talking about race. ” - john a. powell
What my lens says about leadership
I want this lens I have to change. I am ready to give up this lens that I have about the world of nonprofits and the leadership gap that exists. I challenge myself and others to see a person of color running the Aspen Institute or Independent Sector and having people of color running all sorts of organizations is not new or novel but what happens every day.
I share all of this in the hopes that you will understand that the reactions that I have, I own those; they are mine to realize, to tame and to deal with and that I will push forward with this and any other discourse of an ( ism) that needs to take place.
My question is, what are your lens? Can you name them, claim it and at times shake them loose when you have to?. Can we open up this discourse even wider and get to solutions that work?
I am hopeful and ready to talk.
Ericka Hines believes her place in social change is in building the skills and promoting the connections of others.You can follow her on Twitter @socialchngediva
