Where are we after the 2020 racial uprising: Encompass’ “All Aboard” chat session debrief

July 21, 2021

On July 20th, we hosted our second “All Aboard!” Chat with Encompass’ Board President, Shayna Rowbotham, and Doris Quintanilla co-founder and Executive Director of The Melanin Collective.

We created this series to have space to informally share our thoughts on pressing racial equity issues of our day. We call it “All Aboard!” because it takes everyone—in all of our unique positions—to make racial equity a reality.

During this chat, we discussed the cultural shift following the racial justice uprising of 2020 and steps to keep pushing towards progress. You can watch the entire conversation here (30 minutes).

Here are the highlights:

1. Embed equity throughout the organization

   • Add racial equity into job descriptions and performance evaluations. For example, a manager should be asked: can I manage and keep a team of diverse staff? Since managers have the most impact on if someone stays in an organization it is key to hold them accountable.

   • Make your goals and value statements public on your website

   • Let people (staff/volunteers/donors) leave who are not in line with your values and the work you’re doing.

2. We all have power

   • Do your own education, make space for your learning and unlearning journey. Check out the resources on our website.

   • Own your own mistakes and don’t be afraid of making them. Perfectionism is oppression. You’ll learn more from making a mistake than from never taking risks.

   • When you see racism happening, interrupt it. Here’s a great resource: https://biasinterrupters.org/

   • Model antiracist behaviors and ask questions to challenge the status queue. Don’t wait for Black, Indigenous, or people of the global majority (BIPGM) to bring it up.

3. It’s about accountability

   • Establish a baseline using data about your organization.

     1. Who makes up your organization?

     2. Who leads your organization?

     3. What does retention look like?

     4. Who is getting promoted?

     5. Who is applying for your open positions?

     6. Who is getting the job?

   • Then, invest in external BIPGM consultants/expertise in the areas you need to improve. It’s important to get an outside perspective.

   • Create a roadmap of what you want to accomplish and review it every six months. Be ready to modify it as you go.

4. Keep going, the work must continue  

   • Establish a community of practice. A group where you come together for a specific reason and have set goals.

   • Document your achievements and celebrate! Remember learning something new is worth celebrating.

   • Take time for reflection;  what worked in the past 2 months? Learn from what happened.

   • Keep records of your work so you can see the change over the course of 5-10 years.

Doing this work is the bare minimum that we can expect from the progressive movement. It is past time for organizations to live their mission, vision, and values within the organization as much as they do outside of it.

Join us for our next All Aboard! Chat on October 12, 2021, where we’ll explore how to balance “making people comfortable” and “meeting people where they’re at”? With our Special guest Paul Gorski.

Register here or catch it on the blog later.