White supremacy (not far-right extremist groups but the mainstream system embedded in every aspect of our systems and culture here in the US and across the globe) deeply entrenched in people and organizations that are supposed to be there to help, that are the "well-intentioned" ones - I've come to expect it, yet it still cuts deep, so maybe I'm not as prepared as I tell myself I am.

Or maybe the day it doesn't cut deep is the day I lose touch with my own humanity - I don't know. It's a fine line.

Equity without inclusion is still oppression

One of the things we've seen at some of our client organizations as well as the communities we are part of, well-intentioned progress towards making decisions that are grounded in equity fall short when there is a continued reliance on top-down hierarchies, paternalism and lack of transparency that still doesn't include those most impacted.

What often ends up happening is that you end up with even more people not feeling heard.

Those who are aligned with power and privilege feel confused and threatened because a different kind of decision making is taking place that doesn't center them, but has not been explained - this often weaponizes equity as the reason no one gets what they need.

And those whose needs are supposedly being prioritized don't experience it that way either, because they weren't given a voice in the process, and they have no reason to trust that their needs are being considered at all.

What happens after radical truth telling and acknowledgement?

One of the things that often happens when you open up the space for difficult conversations about racism and other form of systemic oppression that might be underlying the challenges and harm experienced by the most impacted in a community or organization is that it gets messy. It feels uncomfortable. It is often intensely painful.

The violence of unity

When you come to learn the truth about this country, even just a little bit more than what we are typically taught or lead to believe, when you come to understand how systemic racism and white supremacy were a founding principle of this country, built into every aspect of its systems and institutions in ways that are still very much alive, present, yet invisible to so many of us today, Trump no longer is an aberration. It's the system working exactly as designed in ways that we all can't help but be complicit with, whether with our intention or consent or not.

Dismantling oppressionAlethea FitzpatrickNovember 8, 2020#election2020, #unity, #violence, #jamesbaldwin, #paolofriereComment

Burnout burnout burnout burnout...

Emotional exhaustion and burnout is real and has a disproportionate impact on women, BIPOC and others who face systemic challenges.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt more emotionally exhausted, and getting more sleep doesn't help.

So it was that Brene Brown's podcast interview with authors of the book "Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle" resonated deeply and also provided insights and practical strategies for dealing with stress, even when we have no control over the stressors.

Read more about my takeaways, then go listen to the podcast episode, then go read the book!

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickOctober 18, 2020#stress, #burnout, #brenebrown, #pandemiclife, #selfcareComment

More on the dilemma of fall school reopening decisions (why aren't we listening to those most impacted?)

The data shows that low-income, Black and Latinx families are the least in favor of re-opening schools. They place a higher priority on not dying (ie containing the virus) than on restarting the economy or getting their kids out of their hair so they can get work done more peacefully at home (which is the priority for many white and more privileged parents who are otherwise shielded from the worst effects of the virus).

As Jen Roesch argues in her article "If Opening Schools Is About Equity, Why Aren’t We Listening to Those Most Impacted?", instead of forcing students back to school, we should support them and their families to learn at home.

How are you approaching fall school reopening decisions for your family, if you have school age kids? What is your company or organization doing to support working parents? How can you advocate for working parents, especially those who face the most systemic challenges?

Co-creating inclusionAlethea FitzpatrickAugust 9, 2020#onlineschool, #schools, #DEIinapandemic, #DEIforthelonghaulComment

How can we meet community needs? Thoughts on in-person, hybrid or remote learning during a global pandemic

As many families grapple between choices of in-person, hybrid, or remote learning, I wanted to share some different articles that have helped me clarify my thinking.

Even if you are not a parent or caregiver, this is an important conversation to be aware of and part of - not only do you likely have friends, family and colleagues who are grappling with these issues, but these are community and systemic issues that impact us all.

Employers have a role too because they have the ability to mitigate the impossible math of working from home full time while your kids are at home full time trying to get an education, and that, as always, disproportionately impacts those already most impacted including BIPOC, low income, and essential worker families and especially the women in those families.

For those who hastily proclaimed that Black Lives Matter these past couple of months, it's time to act like they do.

Creating space for our own humanity

One of the things I've been thinking about is how we can create space to show up in our full humanity.

Sometimes what this means is being able to take off our hat as whatever role we are playing - professional or personal - and allow more of ourselves and our humanness in.

In other words, letting ourselves, and each other, just BE can actually be quite revolutionary.

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickJuly 19, 2020#inclusion, #inclusiveleadership, #truth, #healing, #humanityComment

Diversity, equity and inclusion on social media (Savvy Social podcast interview)

One of the things we've all had the chance to both watch and experience lately is how to practice diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on social media. Some companies have been doing it well... others, not so much.

I recently got the chance to speak with social media strategist Andréa Jones about how to share on social media with transparency and accountability so as to lower the cost of speaking up and create safety within our communities. Although Andréa's podcast speaks mostly to digital business owners, the conversation we had can be applied to any business or organization.

Stop saying you didn't mean to cause harm

We need white people to stop asking for "respect" and "kindness", and for "judgement free" space, and to be assumed to have "good intentions."

We need white people to stop saying they didn't mean to cause harm.

Because you may not have intended it, but the harm you cause is not an accident.

Dismantling oppressionAlethea FitzpatrickJune 28, 2020#amycooper, #seeingwhite, #equity, #whiteviolence, #rubybridges, #truthComment

#Juneteenth

By Malaika Aaron-Bishop

Two marches. Two rallies. One drum circle.

A Black woman in a white, lace frock with long diaphanous sleeves carries a megaphone. The dress is at once delicate and commanding. Impractical? Maybe. But still deeply appropriate. She paces, making eye contact with each person and bellows with the ease of any general: "We are crying out as mothers and grandmothers saying... we shall not be stopped, Amen!?"
Crowd: "Amen!"
Woman: "Alright! Forward ever! Backward never!"

Lowering the cost of speaking up

One of the things I've realized that I can do as a DEI consultant, along with my team at Co-Creating Inclusion, is to lower the cost of speaking up.

And now what we're seeing across the country and even across the world, despite my misgivings about a "woke wave", is a systemic and cultural lowering of the cost of speaking up.

On the "woke wave" and how I don't have the inside track on the right way to do things

How I'm shoring up my boundaries so I don't get drowned by the "woke wave' and how I have to remind myself that I don't have the inside track on the right way to do things.

Screaming into the wind

BLACK LIVES MATTER

We say this because the US was founded on the principle that they didn't, and that principle is still at the bedrock of every institution today.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Tony McDade. Ahmaud Arbery. And all the countless others, these only being the latest.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Change can happen

Change is a funny thing. I find that people, myself included, often get stuck in either being resistant to change because it's happening too fast and is out of our control or not in the direction we wanted, or being frustrated and feeling like we're banging our heads into walls and screaming into the wind because change isn't happening fast enough. Sometimes it feels like change isn't happening at all, or it's one step forward and three steps back.

What do you need?

I'm feeling very fortunate to have shifted into what feels like a new phase of quarantine. It feels like my brain is working again and wow, what a relief!

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickMay 18, 2020#pandemiclife, #needs, #zoneofgeniusComment

Do not give up your power by depending on others changing

What has helped me to shift out of self-pity and despair has been to focus on the ways in which I can meet my needs, rather than all of the ways that other people or the current circumstances are failing to meet my needs.

It has reminded me of how we give up our power when we depend on others changing.

It doesn’t mean that we don’t need to hold people accountable, but that we can do so while still staying connected to our agency.

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickMay 2, 2020#pandemiclife, #agency, #acknowledgethehurtComment

Getting creative about meeting needs

It's so interesting to me how so many of the people who are quarantined alone are suffering from isolation, and so many who are quarantined with family, especially with young kids, are suffering from a lack of alone time.

For some of us, the way we happen to be quarantined aligns better with our personality preferences than others.

And of course, some of us do not have the luxury or privilege of being quarantined at all.

I don't have to know what to do next

The other day, someone shared with me that something they have learned, and that they've been practicing during this time, is: "I don't have to know what to do next."

Although I have known this for a while, it really hit me in the gut all over again. A sense of relief washed over me. I felt my entire body, heart, and soul exhale.

Are you holding on tightly to the idea that you have to have all the answers right now?

Inclusive LeadershipAlethea FitzpatrickApril 17, 2020#zoneofgenius, #surrender, #saviorism, #collaboration, #pandemiclifeComment

How our values and natural preferences help us in times of disruption (Second Breaks podcast episode 125)

How I’m finding breathing space, and my podcast interview on Second Breaks with Lou Blaser: How Our Values and Natural Preferences Help Us in Times of Disruption

Blog

JOIN SELF-COACHING FOR DEI ADVOCATES