On #BLM and authentic reaction

(written in June 2020 but, if anything, more important now as the anniversary of #BlackoutTuesday (June 2) approaches!)

Prelude

I wrote this piece in June 2020, whilst processing rage, fury, anger and realising that the killing of George Floyd, and the heinous treatment of Belly Mujinga that lead to her death from COVID 19, these terrible things, were triggering an experience of PTSD in me, following a childhood and adulthood where racism was always perceptible, but often not by my European and Asian peers, giving rise to thought about my own identity as a Black man, an Afropean, born of Afro-Mauritian and Irish heritage, and what I could do to foment positive action in a dread time...

My main treatise is at the foot of this document, so, for the TLDR crew, who have genuinely done work since June, and continue to do so — if you’re capable of power moves, you can jump to that point...

For everyone… all, I hope this piece provides utility, some high-calibre ordnance for the war on racism…

The Invitation

There is an invitation being extended that won’t thrill anyone receiving it.

It’s being issued by hundreds of thousands of protestors taking to streets worldwide, messengers at work despite a perilous moment.

The invitation will be rejected by those who fear or loathe the idea of Black people living their culture.

It is silently willed abroad by troubled minds, scared to activate speech or writing, fearful of personal or professional repercussions.

Given six months, it will persist but could become increasingly ignored.

The invitation is gladly accepted by all those who can see that Black people do not enjoy equal rights, justice.

Specifically, it invites all people of White European heritage to:

- Check your privilege

- Challenge your prejudices

- Remove racism towards Black people from your society.

If prepared to do all the above, this can be an invitation to be authentic:
To consider really carefully the constitution of your/your organisation’s approach to the challenge of removing racism, however subtle, from its structure.

Empathy doesn’t arrive with a Black square on your socials for a day or a donation without further thought. Money is not enough.

Quick, do something!

For the quick fix, sure, fling some money to a ‘campaign for racial equality and let them take charge of your concern.

If your organisation makes a profit, the donation is tax-deductible — it won’t actually cost your company a penny.

In effect, you’re opting that money out of general taxation, and directing it deliberately to the cause you’ve found via Google.

The money will be applied somewhere, it might pay bail, lawyers fees, fund a campaign — all useful.

Direct, fast, smart — right?

Not entirely, in my opinion.

If you’re content that donating to, say, CAFOD is going to positively affect the folks they treat, without ever understanding precisely where that effect was felt, or how it changed the lives of a society or persons, then that works.

The result of that action is that you can say that you/your company donated when asked ‘What did you do when…’

But what is actually necessary?
Remember the invitation:

Did your action make you check your privilege?

Did you actively challenge your prejudices?

Did you work to remove racism towards Black people from your society?

Authenticity

Being authentic in your response is likely to be challenging.

It will take thought, planning, collaboration, opening up new networks. It takes time.

Also, done best, it requires you to start and continue a journey. Along the road, you’ll need to learn a lot: Read, a lot. You’ll need to be giving of not just your time, but yourself, your attitudes and your empathy.

Authenticity in acknowledging your privilege means understanding the ways in which it operates, and you cannot do that without educating yourself; understanding those opportunities you take for granted that are denied to others.

Why, in a company of 40, is there one Black ‘dude,’ in a junior role in finance, and the ‘lovely girl’ on reception.
What’s that about?

When did you last go out on a limb, push for cultural representation in your organisation, or institution?
The last time you used your old school network, did you reach out to a Black person? Have you ever?
Or, if that’s less applicable, when did you last stop to check just how welcoming your organisation is to Black people, people from other cultures — what hiring policies make this more likely?

Being authentic when challenging your prejudices is one of the hardest things to do:

Will you ever be able to see a group of young Black people for just that and smile, wave a quick salute?
Or, will you be fearful, and cross the road remembering something about ‘gangs of youths:’
‘That guy could never help me out right now, could he? He looks mean!’
‘What is he doing, driving a car like that?’

Can you change your thought processes, behaviours?

Whose work?

Completely removing racism from society: Who is going to do that?
Black people?
No.
For that to happen, it’s for other peoples to deconstruct the systems of privilege and inequality that alienate those whom they oppress.

The financial disparities that affect life chances within the Black community, the hopes suffocated, the dreams forestalled, the innovation undelivered is to the detriment of the broader society in which they find themselves.

Do you understand how many creative partnerships and friendships break down within Black culture owing to the paucity of resources, inherent, or afforded from outside?

This dearth is often both economic and owing to a lack of mutualism, preventing moves to prevail as a large community, acting with sympathy to its members, because sheer survival is often the driving imperative. A community deprived or stripped of wealth struggles to invest in itself.

Who does the crab in a barrel modus that logically tends to issue from these circumstances benefit, as each tries to only do their best for them and their own alone?

Further, for generations of Black people, there have been not just glass ceilings but also sticky floors: It’s difficult to take risks when your job allows you to only just pay your rent.
If you want to break the glass ceiling to homeownership, for example, or The Board, there are several glass ceilings to break. Certainly, there is no assumed right to do so. Far from it. Life often feels like fighting.

And the angry Black man/woman trope abounds.
Why is s/he so aggressive?

Empathy, listening and learning

An authentic reaction is borne of a journey to develop a real understanding, through empathy, listening and learning.

Have you considered what it is like to have something painful that one has experienced all of their life insidiously, sporadically, slowly, painfully suddenly turned into the main point of focus, and being blared from every media outlet?

George Floyd’s killing sent out a colossal emotional aftershock for Black people, and #BLM still resonates in the media narrative.

It’s really, really intense. Many Black people are caught up in processing it — you might not have heard from them.
Talking about the issues at hand does not come easily in the majority of cases. Black individuals are used to having to minimise these issues with White peers.
Imagine craving allegiance, empathy, solidarity and finding nothing.

Those are not easy things to ask for or demand.
But they are beautiful things to give.

So it cannot be stressed enough that empathy is a crucial component of any authentic response.
It’s not possible to respond authentically without having an understanding of the emotions that belie the problem.

If cultivated; greater empathy can increase any capacity to contribute to meaningful change.

Real change?

It’s on the journey that your contribution can be measured, over time.
You can also determine how the process has changed you.

What does the change you’ve brought about look like when making this contribution:
A specific number of lives positively affected?
Open days your organisation has held?
New connections you/your org have made?
Projects discovered, supported?
Discussions had?
Friendships made?
Networks built?
A total number of positive outputs collated?

Think about it, do the work!

Evidence, stories, connections, human perspectives, lived experience… those are the hallmarks of authenticity.

It doesn’t come with a Black square on your socials for a day or a donation without further thought. Money is not enough. Once again, for emphasis, donating to ‘racial equality’ charities is not the ideal route, as this is not Black people’s problem to fix.

Think about what it is you can actually witness, change.

Figure out, from the main messaging, BLM — of course, but whose lives matter?
Whose lives are you going to affect, positively, show they matter?
Is it going to be young Black people?
Boys?
Girls?
Young adults?
Men?
Women?
LGBTQIA+?
Studying?
Working?
Making?
Performing?
Training?
Entrepreneurs?

Be specific!

Specificity will lead to authenticity. It will give you definite stories to tell and provide measured, tangible results that you can relate to in stories, with nuance and unexpected, delightful details.
That is the nature of human experience.

You may have never taken your experience to a Black community before.
And perhaps that is a bridge you’ve had trouble crossing.

That’s understandable, and you are very correct to be cautious.
Fools rush in where angels dare to tread.
Ask a Black person about the recent outpouring on BLM and you’ll find any number of accounts that affirm that aphorism.

Dissatisfaction and anger are rife where demonstrative anti-racist stances do nothing more than support a symbol, for a day, a short time.
That self-serving, Black square and nothing else shit.

So, speak to an expert. Speak to a Black culture organisation that can signpost you effectively. Some Black cultural activists can recommend approaches. Value their specialist knowledge, pay them for their time.

In this approach, you are taking a responsibility to be the agent of change, attached to and in charge of the decisions you’re making for yourself, and your organisation. That’s authentic.

You can start small.

If you’re doing the hard work, you’re going to learn other people’s names and spend time together. You could be wooden, or you could be warm and easy. You might start out offering an insight, giving a presentation, hosting a workshop, an open day, or getting stuck into a community project.

You might end up swapping stories, playlists, recipes and family dramas — authentically breaking down the barriers that otherwise stop the flow of natural conversation, inclusive behaviour and association.

Then you might start connecting people and being connected, changing your mindset and others’ minds, becoming an advocate for redressing a balance.

And you don’t have to be in control. Get used to that thought, that notion.

You are here to help redress a balance, not as some sort of saviour — Get over yourself with that shit!

Listen! And come prepared too.

There are so many memes with great books to study right now, but, for the immediacy of access, urgent learning, read Reni Edo-Lodge’s ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking… About Race.’

For accounts that detail the Black experience and beyond into other ethnic minorities’ travails in the UK, read Nikesh Shukla’s edited collection of essays ‘The Good Immigrant.’

That’s for a start.
Please, educate yourself.
As always with education, it’s your responsibility to learn, and not your peers’ to teach. Else teachings fall like seeds on a rock.

Another authentic way to support is to stay alive to the emergent debate on social media, and particularly in your professional network via LinkedIn.
It’s in the workplace, the powerhouses of the economy, where the most effective changes can be wrought.

Did you know many Black people are afraid to speak about these issues on LinkedIn, for fear of professional repercussions?

Inclusion drives, targeting young people, future employees, have their delivery in the workplace, so be seen to be an ally on professional platforms and at industry events. Put a short note in your bio to say you’re open to messages from aspirant applicants for your role from the Black community.

Oh and be specific, it’s Black, not BAME — that simply means non-White British.

Amplify the posts of others who are championing the cause of equal rights and justice for Black people, or other progressive, specific movements or knowledge for Black communities.

You just need to click ‘Like,’ that’s it.

The most powerful approach

Finally, and in my strongest recommendation here, find a project that you can support from the ground-up: A small cash injection for a Black entrepreneur could mean the difference between R&D and launch.
An ongoing contribution to a grassroots project can make all the difference to annual financial planning and matched-funding for grant applications.
A sponsored (well-paid!) work placement can be the first step on a CV, and a story you can revisit, learn more from, for decades.

And there is the challenge.

Do work. Find the project. Follow and nurture, warmly and easily. Don’t be a saviour: Be a champion — that is, don’t tolerate bullshit, prejudice, don’t tolerate racism!

Fight it, don’t delegate the fight. Be the ally, be the solution.

Most of all, in being authentic, affirm that it is not enough to be anti-racist. Accept that racism is yours to stamp out.