My team and I are evolving in how we connect with you. Four years ago, we started with blogs, then added vlogs (podcasts), and just this year, newsletters.
We started just after the murder of George Floyd. The times then called for deep soul-searching and a fresh look at our institutions. Today, in the face of retrenchments, we are experiencing urgent calls to action.
We will answer that call by focusing on weekly newsletters. Every week we will send you a newsletter. Once a month, instead of a newsletter, you may anticipate an in-depth podcast.
This, our first newsletter, will review where we began and reflect on where we are now.
My first blog appeared four years ago, focused on the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
I wrote:
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died under the knee of a White Minneapolis police officer while handcuffed and lying face down. His death spurred local protests which expanded nationally and then internationally. Like many others across the country, I was thrown into a sense of horror, outrage, and…yes, trauma. |
A week after Floyd’s death I put this post on my Leading Consciously Facebook page.
May 31, 2020 Over the last week, I have wondered if I am experiencing PTSD. Memories of my childhood keep flashing into my brain. I didn't have any contact with White people unless I left my segregated neighborhood and went downtown or wandered into a White neighborhood. I was routinely demeaned or harassed by one or more White people and it was usually scary. White bystanders would look away. I would go impassive and look down. I was a child. In the midst of my emotional turmoil and flashbacks to my childhood, imagine my sheer relief to see on the news and in social media Whites protesting, Whites posting on social media, Whites refusing to be bystanders to blatant acts of racial violence. Viral photo of White women standing between the police and the Black protestors. White friends sending me emails about various aspects of what is going on. Protestors of all colors showing up. So now it's once again part of the national discourse. Out of this ugliness and despair, this is the silver lining I see. It's not just an underground private conversation among my Black friends and publicly progressive White friends. It's in the open now. |
Like so many others, I was hopeful that the nation was finally ready to take stock and begin redressing the systemic racism I had experienced all my life.
Action did follow. Companies pledged to support anti-racism. Racial dialogues sprang up all over the country. The nation committed to a new day.
That was then.
The inevitable backlash has set in, spearheaded by people who believe that redress of past wrongs means reverse discrimination against people today who had nothing to do with the past. In this world view, we are all at the same starting gate....
The Supreme Court struck down race-based considerations in admissions at two universities, which emboldened challenges to DEI initiatives in other settings. Some major corporations have laid off their DEI teams, while others continue to stand for the principle of a multicultural and equitable society. Some school boards are censoring books on the subject, while Banned Books Book Clubs are springing up. Even the use of the term “diversity” has become feared in some settings.
And now, over this past weekend, the world turned on its axis as the US presidential landscape shifted. Suddenly, millions of us are energized and full of hope, while others are locked in cynicism and despair. We are four months from a presidential election that will influence the social justice landscape around the world.
It is easy to become deeply discouraged at the energy It takes to persevere. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with nail-biting anxiety as we race our way toward November.
I’ve been delighted to hear about and participate in the burst of spontaneous organizing now happening all over the country. Yet some perspective is needed. It’s still touch and go.
One of our Conscious Change principles is Initiate Change.
The skills underlying this principle are more needed than ever:
Let us know if you are interested in knowing more. We in Leading Consciously are steadfast in our mission to support leaders in developing their ability to foster inclusion and equity. We ourselves will use these skills to get through the inevitable ups and downs we are sure will come.
Our new book, Conscious Change: How to Navigate Differences and Foster Inclusion in Everyday Relationships, was published July 9, 2024.
We held three successful virtual launch parties and one in-person book signing. Thanks to Stephanie Foy for pulling them both off. Thanks especially to you, however you participated, whether you showed up, congratulated us on social media, or just silently sent us good wishes.
Then things went from very good to phenomenal. Conscious Change reached best seller status on Amazon in several categories. A profound thanks to Brené Brown, whose endorsements of the book on her social media platforms were a major factor in getting us there.
It temporarily sold out at Amazon and other outlets for three agonizing (to us) days and was restocked at Amazon Sunday morning. We are now in a rush to get the book’s reprinting underway.
Progress is not a straight line; it has always involved retrenchment and backsliding.
I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. |
