Three Dos and Three Donts guide to begin a racial equity journey in your organization
DO: Educate yourself on the history of deeply rooted structural & systemic racism. You will find a plethora of books, tools, movies, etc. online. Hire outside experts. Share your learnings with non-POC peers. DON’T: Expect your black employees, colleagues, or peers to be the ones to teach you what racism is or is not. Not only is that not their job (unless your D&I team happens to be Black), chances are they are mentally exhausted. Expecting them to educate you perpetuates the mindset of white supremacy. DO: Seek to understand your white privilege. Have ongoing race conversations facilitated by your D&I leaders or outside experts. Focus on listening & learning the lived experiences of your black colleagues and employees in those spaces. Check in with colleagues to see how they are doing. DON’T: Remain silent and say things like “I don’t know what to say or do therefore I will not say or do anything.” Taking a silent stance comes off as a denial that systemic racism even exists and continues to perpetuate the problem. DO: Define what racial equity means to your organization to culturally begin the journey of becoming an anti-racist company. DON’T: Do not go down this path because it is a “trending” topic if your leadership is not deeply committed to this work. Buy-in & alignment is critical. Tackling racial equity is hard work & is not a one-time discussion – or even a one-year journey. Inauthenticity or haphazard execution will only make things worse.