Issues Encountered and Solutions Created
There is no point in pretending that anti-racist projects are easy.
They never are.
But the biggest changes require the most courage (and confidence!) to achieve. This is because the journey is just as important as the goal. I encourage you to document the challenges you face as you put anti-racist theory into practice. That way, you can share those stories with others and help them become creative anti-racist project solvers.
Issues and Solutions
- As an elected official, I had a lot of room to advocate for change. But I was also limited by rules in the system, many of which I was learning on the go. That meant that I had to be prepared to pivot, adjust, and start over at a moment’s notice. And that is why commitment to change was so important. With every barrier, I reminded myself that I was committed to doing anti-racist work differently. Being creative was key to making magic happen.
- Although I had many ideas about what a podcast could look and feel like, early in my tenure, I was working with a team that didn’t share my racial background. Sometimes we were on the same page with everyone understanding the vision I had for a project. But other times, I realized that my own lived expertise made me much more sensitive to a lack of representation in the work that we did. For instance, early award recipient lists created by my team often excluded BIR people. This happened me saying that the team had to be mindful of this pattern in provincial recognitions. To counter this, I became very clear about my goals. I also made a point of reviewing all lists before any outreach happened. In that way, I actively remained committed to my racial justice goals.
- Early guest lists for our podcasts also replicated a similar patterns. It was important to hire BIR people and ensure that they had decision-making power. This was especially true for the podcast. This allowed my staff to model anti-racist planning for non-BIR team members.
When we commit to doing anti-racist work, we also commit to incorporating anti-racist problem-solving. I highly recommend documenting what works and what doesn’t as you navigate your own anti-racist journey.
Next Steps
In preparation for our e(RACE)r Network™ calls, I’d love for you to list some questions or comments (or both!). So take your time, think about your own project and how this might be relevant to your goals. Feel free to send me a comment directly here!
And don’t forget to throw a message in our Community Forum. It’s an amazing way to stay connected and keep the conversation going.
Looking Forward to hearing from you!
