This blog post was a full-team effort, driven by extraordinary leadership by Black staff members and staff members of color on our Programs team: Raquel Thompson, Mateo Mossey, and Lauren Benetua. It was also informed by the courageous, creative actions of many Black people and people of color in civic and cultural organizations around the world. We see you. Thank you.
Yesterday, we shared a framework with OF/BY/FOR ALL Change Network members on how organizations can take action in moments of outrage and crisis. Today, we’re sharing it with you.
Now is a moment for organizations to act - even if you may not feel completely prepared to do so. This moment is one of collective suffering and uprising caused by white supremacy and racist violence in the United States. And there are catalytic moments of loss, pain, and activism in every community - moments when we have to decide whether and how to respond institutionally.
These moments can flare up suddenly, but they are connected to ongoing, long-term crises. White supremacy and racist violence have a multi-hundred-year history, and it’s not going to end tomorrow. Neither is the coronavirus, climate change, or other major global issues. Sometimes, organizations choose not to act because it feels too overwhelming to stop everything and develop a response. But silence can be deafening. These crises impact our communities and our staff. They deserve attention and action.
It might take time to figure out the longer-term goals your organization wants to contribute to, but that should not stop you from taking immediate action right now. Many cultural and civic organizations benefit from the legacies of racism and white supremacy. Not acting now is a form of complicity with white supremacy. If you want to build an organization that is of, by, and for your community, you need to build the capacity to respond when members of your community call out.
For that reason, we want to offer a framework that enables your team to act. This framework can help you map out immediate and longer-term actions, both externally with your community and internally with your team.
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EXTERNAL ACTION
Externally, you can think creatively about how to contribute your assets to advance justice and change. All our organizations have assets to share. Perhaps you want to stand in solidarity with black people and people of color, and you have a megaphone you could use to do so. Perhaps you want to proactively shift assets from your white organization to Black-led organizations. Or perhaps you want to help advance the movement directly by joining in and speaking out.
INTERNAL ACTION
For external action to be meaningful, it must be grounded in internal action. That starts with making space and centering the experiences and priorities of Black staff and staff members of color. This matters immediately in the moment, and it matters in terms of longer-term commitments you might make.
Moments like these may start outside your organization, but they affect your internal team too. Black staff members and staff members of color may be struggling not only with what’s happening in the world but also how white supremacy shows up in your institution (and in similar institutions where they’ve worked in the past). Some staff members may feel alone, unsafe, or retraumatized if there is no internal response to a major issue their community is facing. Others may feel disheartened or betrayed if there’s an external response that isn’t coupled with internal action.
When it comes to internal response, you don’t have to wait for your organization to change a policy to take action. Many of these actions can be done individually, colleague to colleague. If your organization is not taking action, you still can. It will strengthen relationships and set you up for the work ahead.
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Want to start using this framework at your organization? Here’s a simple google slide you can copy and use to map external and internal actions you might take. You might choose to adopt some of the actions listed in this article, or you may choose to find your own path.
We’re using this framework ourselves at OF/BY/FOR ALL even as we’re developing it. For us, external immediate action looks like making a public statement, creating this new content, sharing it with you, and holding workshops on it with Change Network members. Internal immediate action looks like holding space for each other, pausing other projects, and giving staff members of color additional paid days off. And we’re holding ourselves accountable to deeper work in the future as well - both internally in staff policy and externally in our programming.
Whatever you do next, we hope you do something. Moments like this can open up opportunities for us to unlearn harmful practices and radically imagine new ones. When you build a roadmap for external and internal response, you’ll feel more equipped when these moments arise. And you’ll set yourself up to build an organization that is more responsive, resilient, and supportive of your communities, inside and out.
If you’re feeling unsure about what to do, lean into your discomfort, listen to your colleagues of color, and take action that feels authentic to you. Don’t worry about “missing the moment.” It’s never too late to start dismantling white supremacy.
Special thanks to our Programs Team for their rapid response in co-creating this blog article and resource.
From left to right: Community Catalyst Lauren Benetua, CEO and Spacemaker Nina Simon, Head of Programs Raquel Thompson, and Community Catalyst Mateo Mossey.
Looking for even more tools?
If now is a pivotal moment for change in your organization, try our newest tool the ReVision Self-Assessment. This free 5-minute assessment can help you get clear on your capacity for change and where to focus first so you can break free of outdated practices and build more inclusive, relevant, effective community organizations.