[In the previous (Nov. 12) blog post, I talked about
the connection I see between justice
work and healing work – acknowledging
the reality that our society is built upon acts of brutality and actively
maintains systems of domination. I promised to next offer practical steps for
dismantling oppression and to create and sustain liberation for all. I hope that you will take one or two of these
to begin practicing within your movement or organization. Please do share what you learn!]
EQUITY WORK IS HEALING WORK (PART 2)
Important and critical
practices for any group intending equity and justice falls under what I’ve
named: Systematic Repair – Living Equity. These are concrete steps that, through
practice, cultivate a culture of truth – a repaired
foundation upon which we can institutionalize equity and justice.
Systematic Repair Practices
1.
Make sure that
your team has as a part of its training (as early in its development as
possible) a clear framework for understanding the difference between individual
or interpersonal power dynamics AND systemic or societal power dynamics.
2.
Prioritize
capacity building with a goal that everyone effectively give and receive
feedback. Build a strong foundation in
naming and understanding the difference between “what I saw/heard,” “what I felt within,” “what I assumed/believed,” and the ability to
own “what I did was…” This framing and the resulting practice will strengthen
your ability to name and to eliminate Patterns of Diversity which are the
building/sustaining blocks of systems of oppression.
3.
Share the
definition of *Patterns of Diversity (or a similar framework that points to
specific behaviors) and then, watch a film or review current events while
members practice naming *Patterns of Diversity.
4.
At every meeting
(Staff meeting, Board meeting, design team meeting, etc.) assign one person (or
two if a larger group) to act as Power Process Observer. Their job is to simply record and report out patterns of diversity that they saw
happen during the meeting. This process
will take a strong commitment. Not
everyone sees patterns as easily as
others so encourage people to take turns.
Expect that there will be resistance – mainly in the form of
defensiveness. This practice is about building
muscles: eyes (ability to see what is happening), voice (ability to name what
is happening), heart (ability to stay engaged and connected even in the midst
of acknowledging what may be painful).
All of it is essential!
5.
DECLARE ACTION
STEPS (OR ACTIVATORS) to shift patterns that are noticed over time. Be rigorous in naming the changes to be made,
the commitments and specific timing for checking in/monitoring the change or
checking back in. Those with greater
institutional power need to step up here in both owning their part in upholding
the status quo and their particular responsibility in dismantling systems of
oppression. (In so doing, you immediately
challenge the familiar pattern of “those in power” acting as the guardians of the status quo.)
6.
Allow people to
make amends. There may be rituals that
arise – don’t resist them. Holding each other accountable is essential
yet, sincere apologies and true forgiveness has the power to transmute the
poisons like nothing else.
*Patterns of diversity are
behaviors that we see having to do with difference AND Institutional and/or
Societal POWER. They are important to
notice and acknowledge in order to build a JUST community.
~~~
Comments
I feel I am very much a novice at seeing the power and how it plays our around me and my own role as "guardian of the status quo." I yearn to understand this better and to grow and change.
I serve on a board of a Quaker institution, wherein a process observer is appointed for each meeting. The point is to report back on adherence to ideal Friends Process at the end of each meeting. When it was my turn as observer recently, I decided to simply record how many comments were made to each item of business by women, men, European-Americans, and People of Color. Predictably, white men spoke twice as much as white women. Also, (sadly) predictably, whites spoke 4 times as much as POC. I presented these results as observations without judgment attached. The feedback was received openly and several people told me later they were very glad to have received it. whether any change will come of it is another thing...