Juneteenth 2020: A Perspective Through the Eyes of a DEI Practitioner
By: Sharon Brogdon, Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Vericast
Today is Juneteenth. It commemorates the day, 155 years ago, that enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. The day came nearly 400 years after the first humans were forcibly migrated from the African continent to labor in the fields of the Southern states, and nearly two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Major General Gordon Granger delivered the news in Galveston, Texas, as he read General Order №3:
I imagine for some, it was a day of disbelief and, for others, a day of intense joy and celebration. It was likely a day that some never believed they would live to see. General Order №3 not only declared their freedom, but also declared they should enjoy “an absolute equality of rights and rights of property…” That was a joyous day indeed, worthy of celebration. The day is still worthy of remembering and celebrating, nearly two centuries later by those of us who are descendants of those enslaved in Texas and other regions, who were forced to endure the atrocities of that dark time in this nation’s history.
My children and I, along with my Texas-born husband, recognize Juneteenth because it is important that we never forget the voices of our ancestors who paid a tremendous price for our family to be here. My challenge this year is coming to terms with the range of emotions I am experiencing regarding the systemic racism that still impacts Blacks today — 157 years after that proclamation of freedom and guarantee of absolute equality.
Systemic racism is real. It’s still claiming Black lives without penalty, causing a disproportionate number of Blacks to be incarcerated, and causing me to carry a constant worry every time my son and husband leave the house and become the potential target of someone who is empowered to harm them because, with no provocation, those individuals can declare they feel threatened.
This year, I am fatigued. I am emotionally exhausted, angry, irritated, disappointed, fearful and sad, and the emotional burden feels exceptionally heavy as I strive to continue to show up fully each day at work. I have to show up fully because by choice, I am a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practitioner. It’s times like these when the light shines bright on us, as we are asked to guide, teach, coach and consult. I believe in troubled times — like we’ve seen these past several weeks — that companies want to respond appropriately for a number of reasons. I’ve seen many companies, even traditionally conservative ones, implement grand gestures, such as making external commitments to support needed change, donating large sums of money to various causes and declaring Juneteenth a paid company holiday. While I personally believe these grand gestures are certainly needed to help support the drive for change, my hope is that they are sincere and sustained. Time will tell.
What I know for sure is the challenges we face today, as a nation and inside our corporate walls, will not be resolved overnight or with a single grand gesture. It will take a sustained level of action and focus. It will require a commitment of powerful corporations to leverage their influence to drive an overhaul of our justice system. It will take the people of our nation leveraging their right to vote — both locally and nationally — to ensure their voices are heard. It will require that we have elected officials who are committed to change. Most importantly, it will take a personal commitment from individuals representing all dimensions of diversity across our nation to do the self-work necessary to resolve that Black people in this nation have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, just like everyone else.
I am extremely encouraged by the steps my company has taken in response to the recent and blatant examples of systemic racial injustice. We, like many companies, have a long-term vision of deeply embedding the tenets of diversity, equity and inclusion into our culture and processes. We’ve begun the racial equity portion of this work by deliberately creating a safe space to build authentic relationships through the sharing of our stories. When we are open to listen and learn about each other’s lived experience, then we can begin to tear down walls, be empathetic and truly see each other’s humanity.
Today is Juneteenth. Let’s celebrate, let’s commemorate, let’s remember. Let’s also commit to learning about, leaning in and acknowledging this nation’s complete history, even the dark parts. Let’s commit to doing our individual part to ensure that fifty years from now, our children’s children aren’t experiencing the same injustices we are experiencing today.
The choice is mine. The choice is yours. Are you willing to make a personal commitment to use your power, privilege and platform to sustain a movement of change? I hope the answer is yes, because we need you.
