An Open Letter to White Non-Profits
Dear White Non-Profits,
I stand with my fellow communities of color who work in the non-profit world and am in solidary with the Black Lives Matter movement. The foundation of this letter is written with love for our sector — I want it to be better and want you to create an environment for employees of color to thrive, not simply spend all of our energy on surviving.
Like many other people of color who work in the non-profit sector, I have found it difficult watching so many organizations releasing statements of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. My anger swells with every performative statement, particularly since I’ve worked in non-profits and higher education for 20 years, and I have yet to see change happen for the Black and Brown staff members that comprise these organizations. We have yet to receive equitable footing. I am cynical that action will actually be implemented.
So I ask, white non-profits, how are you living your stated values? How are you charging forward so that your colleagues of color, whom at times you insist are like family, are treated equitably? If you’re championing diversity, equity, and inclusion, do the internal work first, particularly for those who are supposedly proof of these values and who are doing much of the heavy lifting. Swooping in with dollars and supporting poor communities of color can get addictive for so many white organizations, thus developing a savior complex. How then do we treat some of the very Black and Brown faces sitting around our table, particularly when there is no spotlight on us?
I’ve worked at respectable institutions in my home state of New Jersey, including two high-profile universities and two foundations, and I’ve seen the same mistakes made over and over. I’ve done the work, at times, of several employees and not received the pay; I’ve been incessantly ousted, kept from meetings that would benefit my learning and growth; and I have been admonished for having ambition as if I should remember my place and not want to further my career. I’ve been treated, many times, not as a peer or equal, but as a child. And, while I still have a lot I’d like to learn in my profession, I believe 20 years in the non-profit sector is enough longevity and experience to speak a few hard truths. Over the years, I’ve tried speaking honestly with various leadership, and I often encounter a willingness to listen, but no action. There is a want for change, but not a willingness to give up power or offer resources to staff of color in order to achieve equity between colleagues.
This message is for every non-profit who’s made a solidarity statement standing with the Black Lives Matter movement — if you really want to create change for Black and Brown lives, think about the very people sitting in your circle who have been talking about equity for decades. If you truthfully stand with us, try sitting down instead, which will create space. Here is your opportunity to truly share power. I dare you to think radically — how can you cultivate our sector so that it becomes one in which Black and Brown people can thrive? Be our accomplices — no! Be our co-conspirators here on our journey toward racial justice and an equitable non-profit sector. Here are ten calls to action.
1. Equitable pay. As a woman of color with a terminal degree (Master of Fine Arts) in my area of expertise, and a strong set of experiences in my field, I’m still grappling with trying to understand why my salary continues to fall short next to my white counterparts. It’s a time-old tale. Organizations, why do you insist on paying people of color less than our white colleagues? Retain your diligent and ambitious staff members by paying them what they deserve, and certainly not less than what you pay white colleagues. An across-the-board framework for salaries can and should be managed. And if you’re truly brave, make salaries transparent. Salary transparency allows staff of color to advocate for themselves.
2. Opportunities for development and leadership pipeline. How are you developing your staff of color for leadership roles at the organization and beyond? Equity is not about equal; equity is about providing development, access, and opportunities for those most marginalized. People of color are tired of not being trained and groomed for leadership. When positions of leadership do open, it’s a cadre of who’s who invited to apply, typically predominantly white-identifying people who often land the role. Stop overlooking people of color for executive roles! If you’re in solidarity with us, then be intentional about placing & hiring people who identify as people of color in leadership, particularly Black and Indigenous people of color.
3. Stop creating excuses for white staff members at your organization. Period. White leadership should not, in any way shape or form, be encouraged to “protect” staff of color — from board members, from workload and pressure, or from other demands. People of color should not be seen as folks white people need to rear. I worked hard to navigate my way into this predominantly white space and know the politics of this space. It’s not too difficult for people of color to understand, and most of us, in fact, do have the savvy to traverse such politics. Or if that is not true in your workplace, then please see #2 and begin developing, training, and grooming your staff of color for such situations and spaces. Stop making excuses for your white colleagues, your white board members, and for other white people in positions of power at your organization. These excuses may be actively hindering staff of color from fully exploring their talent and capabilities, focusing all their energy on simply trying to break through that wall of oppression.
4. Don’t make us read the same books. If your organization is practicing making your workplace equitable, then do not have your staff of color participating in the exact same learning as your white staff. Invite your staff members who identify as people of color to develop their own curriculum that best serves them. In fact, consider creating a white caucus and a people of color caucus; each group may be traversing different issues in this learning and may need to hold space for different kinds of conversations. Asking your staff of color to read the same books can, at times, be triggering & burdensome, particularly since we have had to live our whole lives through some of the terms you’re learning (ex. we experience multiple microaggressions in one day at times). Again, equitable does not mean equal.
5. Brainstorm creatively and support thinking outside of the box. White supremacist culture is built on perfectionism, is punctual, and has a hard time thinking outside of the structural box. Sometimes, this type of culture doesn’t allow us to hear ideas that don’t fit neatly into the way we do things or the way we’ve been doing things for a very long time. So, offer your staff members an opportunity and space to brainstorm creative solutions that lie just outside of the way your organization typically handles things. Then, implement these ideas, even if only to test them for a few days, weeks, or months. Experimenting can offer the best solutions, particularly when the results benefit the most marginalized people at your organization. The end result should not be to get it perfect. The end result should be to begin erasing structural impediments, rooted in hundreds of years of systemic racism, that prevent your staff of color from advancing and succeeding.
6. Get it wrong. Often, we hear from our nervous white colleagues who share that they are worried they will get it wrong or might say the wrong things in this equity work. I would counter by saying you won’t “get it right” until you’ve gotten it wrong a few times. Stand by your Black and Brown colleagues who are counting on you to show up and vocalize inequity. Practice, practice, practice. You will not be perfect throughout this work. Count on mistakes in order to learn. Even I, as I write this, make a gamble. This work is messy, but all of us need to be a part of this movement. Take chances, be vulnerable, ask questions.
7. More equitable hiring practices. When there is an opportunity to hire, please don’t limit posting to your networks. You don’t know who you don’t know. Particularly if there is an opportunity to hire an intern or entry-level position, post far and wide. Under no circumstances should non-profits hire the boss’s daughter — there are many reasons why this is inequitable. Think about this as an opportunity to get more ambitious, talented, and interested BIPOC to work in the sector. This is an extraordinary opportunity to practice interviewing for diversity, equity, and inclusion and to find staff members who do not necessarily walk and talk like the rest of your staff — hire for fit, but also hire for difference. Finally, are you really going to headhunt? Consider how unfair those practices are for professionals of color who are never given the opportunity to compete.
8. Share resources. Consider sharing your research for professional development, books you’re reading in the field, and your searches for fellowships and residencies, particularly with those staff members who are looking for a reach and are emerging/mid-career staff of color. It’s as easy as creating a spreadsheet of learnings and opportunities which you email; or, inviting a colleague along to a conference or professional development opportunity. Also, help us network by introducing us to folks we should know. Invite us to meetings so that the sector learns who else is at the table — if you trust that your fellow colleagues of color are experts in our respective fields and are capable, then there should be no reason why you don’t invite us.
9. Give up power. Step down and stand aside for professionals of color. It’s not enough to be our advocate and ally. You can transform the sector by simply sitting one or two innings out on the sidelines so that others have an opportunity not only to shine, but also to gain experience in their field. Heck, maybe it’s time to sit out of the game so that more BIPOC have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership.
10. Acknowledge our exhaustion. We’ve lost loved ones to the pandemic (at much higher rates) and also have lost community to the Black Lives Matter movement. We’re navigating how to survive. Don’t challenge us to take off from work on Juneteenth for reflection — we’ve lived this our whole lives. Instead, give your staff of color additional personal days (or, for that matter all employees) — in order to use them to find joy and take care of our own mental health and well-being, as well as bring up morality in the workplace.
If you’re in solidarity with Black and Brown people, then prove to us that you’re truly down for the cause. Be creative. Be radical. Be the trailblazer.
I end this letter with a final question: which of these 10 actions will you take today?
