Monday's Opening Thought: March 15, 2021

This week’s opening thought: If you are on a Board of Directors in 2021 and you’re still talking around, and not talking about or engaging in dismantling, the rampant white supremacist ideology that fuels even the concept of having a Board of Directors you are doing nothing but contributing to the ongoing steamroller of white supremacy. And it’s likely not important enough for your Board to want to address because y’all don’t want the discomfort. And guess what?

There is no number of people of color, of Black, Brown, and Indigenous folx, that you can add to your Board of Directors that will make you appear as you care.

And seeing how the overwhelming majority of Boards are only interested in people of color, in Black, Brown, and Indigenous folx, for the optics and not for their “non-palatable” thoughts and ideas I’m sure we all get what the tea is, even if we don’t wanna say it out loud.

The tokenization of BIPOC folx and the allocation of BIPOC energy to being tasked with addressing the hate on your Board that you don’t want to address while perpetuating that hate against people of color on your Board is literally white supremacy, y’all.

At least own it. You own all the credit for things going well. Own this too. It’s your property, not mine.

Monday's Opening Thought: March 8, 2021

This week’s opening thought:

Listen to all Black women.

Believe all Black women.

Validate all Black women.

Support all Black women.

Advocate for the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of all Black women.

Protect all Black women.

Real talk? Oprah shouldn’t have had to interview a Black woman who married someone she loved - someone who just so happened to be a part of a colonialist, racist, inbred patriarchy that obviously did not want “her kind” in their family - for you to care or consider all of the aforementioned. Her pain and trauma shouldn’t have had to be on display for you to be like, “Maybe she’s telling the truth.” Why do I feel this way?

Because you’ve heard these stories before. You just weren’t actively listening.

Black women have been sharing stories and harrowing ordeals akin to what Meghan Markle shared with the world last night with the world for centuries. In the workplace. In the communities they live in. Even marrying into non-Black families or having intimate relationships and friendships with white people. Meghan’s experience is not unique.

And that is the problem.

Western culture has normalized harming Black women to the point where most people - some Black folx included - don’t even bat an eye when faced with the prospect of this generational hatred or even their part in it. If you saw the interview and you feel for Meghan, which you should, ask yourself how often you’ve felt this way when you’ve heard these stories from Black women who aren’t Meghan. Then ask yourself why you weren’t compelled enough to care about Black women enough in those moments to be an ally or accomplice. It shouldn’t have to be on TV as a prime time special for you to care. And you know what?

These stories were already on your damn TV anyway.

It’s on the local and national news, buried behind a story about a squirrel that rides a jet ski and other puff pieces. It’s Breonna and Sandra and Muhlaysia and countless other Black women gone too soon and forgotten with no justice, names you’ve heard in passing that made you sad for 15 minutes.

You’ve heard these stories before. You just weren’t actively listening.

You might need to put on your listening ears for once and wire them up to your belief that you’re an ally or accomplice.

All Black Women Matter.

Monday's Opening Thought: March 1, 2021

This week’s opening thought: Today is the first day of Womxn’s History Month. Before many of y’all open up your Rolodex of the usual white homogenized suspects for womanhood, or decide you’re gonna be “woke” and make this Social Media Black History Month 2.0, I would like you to pump the brakes for a minute and do a few things for me.

Take the time this month to begin learning why I spelled “Womxn” the way that I did.

Take the time this month to begin learning about or expand your knowledge of intersectionality and critical race theory.

Take the time to do some deep dives into the history of “well-meaning” white womxn upholding white supremacy and cutting womxn of color out of the fight for equity and equality while taking ownership of their hard work.

And take the time to recognize how you’re not celebrating and supporting womxn if you’re not celebrating and supporting every womxn.

And don’t just take the time - make the time. Make sure this endeavor is given the energy and humility it deserves, not just for the next 31 days but in perpetuity.

Now is as good a time as any to begin the lifelong work of celebrating and elevating womxnhood. Make this effort more than just a month of social media posts.

Monday's Opening Thought: February 22, 2021

This week’s opening thought: If you’re reaching out to equity consultants and anti-racism advocates/speakers and you’re not offering them financial compensation you are aiding and abetting white supremacy in the guise of “doing better.”

Even if you “only want 15 minutes of their time” you not even considering offering them financial compensation for their emotional and mental labor is you openly using people of color for free labor. That is the opposite of “doing better.”

Take the time to find out a person of color’s rates. Don’t lowball them with subpar counters. Hell, don’t counter them at all. If their rates are “too high” for you, that’s not their problem. They deserve to not have to barter with you when you’re the one who contacted them for their services.

And before you ask no, an offer of coffee or lunch isn’t financial compensation. That’s a cheap offer that shows you’re not willing to offer your full attention. That’s also asking someone to try and ingest food and drink while having to be emotionally present and cater to you. How do you think that food is gonna settle in their body?

Pay people for their labor.

Monday's Opening Thought: February 8, 2021

This week’s opening thought, for HR folx, recruiters, and hiring managers: If you’re interviewing candidates for any position in any organization, at some point in your interview process your interview questions must ask the candidate to share their personal understanding of anti-racism. You also need to ask questions to get an understanding of their personal work around dismantling their connections to white supremacy, as well as their views on being a part of an equitable and inclusive workplace that is a safer and braver space for more than just white cishet staff. And if your white applicants or non-white applicants with privilege give answers to these questions that are toxic or show an unwillingness to unpack their white supremacy?

They do not deserve to move on to the next round of your recruitment, qualifications be damned.

There’s enough racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, ableist white people and non-white people with privilege who harm others daily in our workplaces. We don’t need to hire any more. None of us do. We all need to normalize making being a hateful uncaring person an automatic exclusion from being in the running for a job. Qualified or not, skills do not trump hate, intolerance, and a lack of interest in being a better person. Recruit and hire like you actually want decent people to work for you.

Oh - and while I have your attention, take some time real soon to address the fact that those who can do something about it haven’t done anything about the racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, ableist white people and non-white people with privilege who harm others daily in our workplaces. Get on that.