The Social Sector And Racism: How To Force Change And Mean It

Racial bias – personal and institutional, conscious and unconscious – finds its way into virtually all parts of society, and the social sector is no exception. Even well-intentioned, progressive organizations must reevaluate their own operations, governance, and structures at this moment of our nation’s moral reckoning. Ninety percent of nonprofit board chairs are white, and 84% of board members are. Philanthropic dollars flow more freely to white-led organizations, causing a revenue gap of nearly 25% between white-led and black-led organizations. Only a quarter of family foundations even have formal diversity, equity, and inclusion goals or strategies to guide their giving.

How, then, can social change advocates themselves not just give voice to the inequities within their own sector, but force the kind of self-examination that many are pushing the corporate world to undertake? How can we call ourselves out in this moment, and survive to realize the change we desire?

Own it.
White leaders must find ways to speak without denying the fact that they are inherently part of the problem AND without denying the real risk of continually failing. It starts with saying so. Historically, however, racism has always been the fault of someone else. This time must be different. Owning the misalignment between intent and action is step one. Own it publicly and authentically, and do not pass it off as the ill-effects of someone else’s work.

Don’t just say. Do.
Words matter. Use words to communicate your true feelings and intentions. Then follow those intentions with the actions that make them real. A client recently reached out to inquire whether they should put out a statement in the midst of the current unrest. Our reply: “Have you taken a look at your Board lately?” The actions you take in this moment and in the future will weigh far more heavily than any statement you can release about how much you “stand with the protestors.”

This should hurt.
Equity is about the redistribution of power. It is about disproportionately resourcing those who need it most. It is about going out of our way to correct the imbalances of the past. That is painful work. If the corrective actions you are contemplating aren’t going to hurt a little (or a lot), you aren’t going far enough.

Prepare for backlash.
Calling yourself out for not truly living your intentions may feel like a kind of “getting ahead of the story.” People will appreciate a little self-effacing realization, no? You will assuredly get some praise but be prepared for hearing the hard truth, as well. Remember the person of color you passed over for that leadership position? They have a twitter account, too. Remember that minority-owned vendor you undervalued with hard negotiation tactics? They do, too. Calling yourself out is good. Don’t shy away from getting called out by others, also.

Invite criticism.
Let’s face it. We all have blind spots. We can only see parts of ourselves. We need to hear the rest from the outside. Open those communication channels. Invite others to share their own perspectives on the ways in which your organization has fallen short, and the ways in which you can course-correct. Don’t only invite your friends to critique. The perspective of long-time detractors, scorned partners, and even former employees can be invaluable in this time of soul-searching.

Do the work yourself.
White leaders: listen up. It is not black America’s job to fix your problems. As the leader of an organization this must be work that you champion. It cannot be outsourced, and it cannot be a programmatic add-on. Asking for help from those with a different perspective is good, but organizational leadership must play a meaningful role in this process. That brings us to our next point…

Pay for help.
Getting advice is good. Pay for it. If you have blind spots as a white leader in the social sector (and you do), bringing in different perspectives is necessary and laudable. If those perspectives come in the form of a volunteer advisory board, you are perpetuating the same kinds of inequities you are trying to fix. The time, expertise, and perspective that other people – especially people of color – put into this process has value. Pay for it.

Stay in it and on it.
This is not and cannot be a singular point in time that will pass quickly. Racial inequity is not the result of a momentary lapse in judgement. It is systemic and was built over 400 years. Use this process to communicate to your stakeholders over time. Use your events as a vehicle to talk about this process. Use your social channels to share progress on this process. Be real. Be vulnerable. Most of all, be transparent.

Sources: leadingwithintent.org | ssir.org | theconversation.com | ncfp.org