So You Want to Be an Anti-Racist. Really?

I’m a Black woman who speaks about racism in the workplace. Which means I am a hopeful realist. You have to be both if you do this work. I recognize the public shaming that many organizations in America had to face to even make the barest acknowledgment that Black lives matter.

I also recognize that the reason many of them reach out to me is that they have no one else to do the work. No Black people in the C-suite. No Black people on the board. Their Black managers and directors are almost non-existent and where they do exist, they are exhausted from carrying this burden alone. I recognize that in a country where White people have long believed that racists are only really (really!) bad people, and “We’re all one race, the human race,” that even talking about race feels like a thing only racists do. That someone can firmly believe that they are color-blind to race, even as they live in racially segregated communities, send their kids to racially segregated schools, and work in racially segregated organizations.

I am a realist. But I am hopeful. If I didn’t think people could change, then I would never do this work.

You want to be an anti-racist? Then it’s time to do the work. Don’t talk about “systems” that need to change “somewhere.” People change systems. Talk to me about how you are going to change.