DAY 25: Give up being silent in racially diverse spaces

Diversity is a thing to celebrate. From the 50s, diversity movements have been forming and maturing meeting the needs of more people. And yet, it has not been enough to change systems and hearts and minds. 

This is because diversity in and of itself is not robust enough to address the systemic nature of racism. We need more than celebration. For some of us, we need skills to intervene when harm is present. And yet many find themselves tongue tied when witnessing micro-aggressions and other racist incidents in the places they live, work and play.

And I can understand why. Addressing these issues can be tricky. We can struggle with finding the right words, worry about backlash and are cautious of overstepping. So often we choose silence.

But silence is not a neutral choice, especially in the face of racism. For the person witnessing the harm, silence means that we are not contributing to the kind of community or workplace that we want. One that is welcoming to all people. 

For the doer of the act, the opportunity to grow when they have created harm is missed and others may hold judgements that could have been attended to, interrupting a sense of belonging and connection.

For the person of colour who has been impacted, your silence affirms that the space they share with you is not one that is welcoming to them. Not one in which their dignity and humanity is valued. This also impacts their experience of belonging.

TIP: If you witness a racist act or are a doer of racist act, regardless of intention, we invite you to give attention to the person who has been impacted just by checking in.  You could say, “I heard this said and I notice I’m not comfortable with it and I just want to check how you are doing right now? Is there something that I could do that would be supportive for you?”

This small intervention is generative of so many good things. It affirms belonging, it allows you as a person who values creating inviting spaces to act with integrity and sets the stage to not only take care of the harm done, but also avoid harm in the future. Be brave. Act with integrity and please address impact by saying something.