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AUDIO: THE POWER OF AN ALLY


AUDIO: THE POWER OF AN ALLY


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If knowledge is power, then allyship is powerful. But you cannot have the second
without the first. If you’re unfamiliar with Juneteenth and its history, or even
if you are, this year take the initiative to educate yourself not just about the
holiday itself but about how you can use your privilege in pursuit of equity and
justice.

Companies can help their team members commemorate Juneteenth and commit to
active allyship. Kiva Wilson, former diversity and inclusion talent lead for
Facebook, and Dr. Evelyn Carter, director at Paradigm, whose research has been
funded by the National Science Foundation, suggest the following:



Create a “day on.” If your company is considering making Juneteenth a paid
holiday—as Nike, Twitter, Postmates, and others have chosen to do—then make sure
to frame it correctly. Encourage your team members to use their time off to
volunteer, donate to reputable organizations, and further commit themselves to
anti-racism initiatives.



Host an event. If you’ll still be in the office on June 19th, then mark the day
by sharing information about the holiday, inviting a Black speaker to discuss
its importance alongside diversity, inclusivity, and equity, or encourage your
team to collectively watch a documentary or listen to a podcast by Black artists
about the Black experience.



Offer learning resources. Actively inform your team about its history and share
additional resources about Black history in America. Encourage respectful and
meaningful discourse and engage in active allyship by amplifying Black voices.

In response to the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement, and
subsequent protests surrounding police brutality, many large companies made
commitments to mark Juneteenth for the first time. From paid holidays to
cancelled meetings to encouraging team members to listen and reflect, companies
such as Target, Microsoft, Twitter, and Amazon vowed to commemorate the day
moving forward.

Take Away: No one likes to be wrong, and few go out of their way to purposefully
cause offense. But when it comes to understanding discrimination, privilege, and
embracing active allyship, we have to remember that intent only goes so far.
This year use Juneteenth as a reminder to expand your efforts from learning to
taking action, without fearing the missteps you may make along the way.


BOBcast: Let’s Talk About Race (2:40)
If you want to be an ally and learn more about others’ experiences regarding
race, how do you start the conversation? Listen in for some tips from Blue Ocean
Brain DEI Director Clayton Sinclair and Rene Clark, a white mother of Black
sons.
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Click here to read a transcript of the BOBcast.

Clayton: Welcome to another Blue Ocean Brain BOBcast. I’m Clayton Sinclair.

Rene: And I’m Rene Clark.

C: And in this episode, you’ll learn how to start a conversation about race.

So Rene, my dad once said to me that there are three things you never talk about
at work—race, religion, and politics. And trust me, the race conversation is not
comfortable for anybody, not even Black people like me. But, there are a few
best practices that can help ease the tension. Starting with…

 * Making sure you have already begun building the relationship with your
   conversation mate. These conversations are easier amongst friends because
   there tends to be less judgment, there is the assumption of good intent, and
   the threat response is usually low.
 * Another best practice is to accept that you are going to mess up, but dive in
   anyway. If you were an expert on race, you wouldn’t need to have this sort of
   conversation.
 * And finally…when you do mess up, own it and be better.

C: Rene, I know you wanted to share a personal story with us about diving into
these tough conversations.

R: I do. So to start, I'm a white woman and mother of two Black children and two
white children, but I didn’t start my journey into what race means as a white
person until later in life when I was doing my dissertation work.

I was down a massive rabbit hole with my research and one Saturday morning, I
could not contain myself any longer and literally burst out of my house (still
in my pajamas) and walked over to my neighbor's house, who was a friend, and a
Black man.

And without any hello, I launch into, “Were you taught about Black codes? Were
you pulled over unfairly? Do you experience discrimination?" And so began my
personal journey.

I share this because I have white people come to me due to how deeply I'm
involved in this work and I think back to this, and the reality is, there isn’t
a right approach, and it is uncomfortable. There isn’t anything you can say. You
just need to jump right in. Because at the end of the day, the perfect
conversation starter is perfect because it's real to you. It’s authentic. 

And, I believe, the only way it can be real to you is by starting off by doing
your own work. Understand the impacts white privilege has on your worldview, the
history, etc.

Do your work first, before having a conversation with anyone else.

C: Thank you, Rene, for being so open, honest, and vulnerable.

R: You’re welcome!

C:And thank you for listening to this BOBCast, elevating people performance in
digestible learning moments.


FEATURE TOPIC


VIDEO: JUNETEENTH, A HISTORY

Whether you’re new to the holiday ...
read more
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AUDIO: THE POWER OF AN ALLY

If knowledge is power, then allyship ...
read more
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VIDEO: COMMITMENT STARTS HERE

If current events remind us ...
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