The bird song in my little patch of forest is so loud in the mornings and the tree frogs and peepers are so loud at night, I rarely forget I have company. When I was younger, it scared me to think there were so many unseen friends, so many creatures out there in the night.

One of my less explored griefs during this horrible time is the impact that this white supremacist, authoritarian bender will have on the planet. What will this place sound like ten years from now? As the Earth takes this hit, what species will become extinct? How much fossil fuel does it take to run AI continuously so we can have it all? In case you haven’t listened to (or you want to relisten!) Joanna Macy’s beautiful Five Lessons From Uncertainty is here for our divine pleasure. Her ability to look power in the face and proclaim the utter insanity of it is unparalleled. 

The irony of all this DEI work being banned is that DEI has never really been all that effective in changing policy or practice within a workplace. Maybe there have been some recruitment protocols that have shifted. Maybe the DEI committee educated a few self-selecting souls on the facts of Disability Justice or some fast fashion way to unlearn unconscious bias, but at the end of 20 years of DEI work, really, many companies and nonprofits had very little to show for their efforts. Most work that falls under the category “DEI,” has consistently centered white fragility and moved at the pace of the most afraid white person in the room. I have been chuckling at all the upset as I read the headlines. Has DEI truly been such a threat to capitalism or white supremacy culture that it must be eliminated? I recognize the whole “better than nothing” and “not all DEI programs,” but I also feel some irritation at the fact that we have moved so slowly and gained so little, to have it painted by the opposition as a threat which needs to be eliminated makes me angry. 

We had a client that was a social services organization. They served poor people; helped them get prescriptions filled, find section 8 housing, enroll in food programs, look for jobs. They are kind and charitable. The request for DEI training was motivated by a desire to be more helpful. We want to talk about why people are poor. These are not mutually exclusive. The tension points to a power analysis. We could start with power over clients, gatekeeping, all the ways that agencies make it easier or harder to access services. The power of the case manager over the client. The father in a family may make decisions that negatively impact the mother or children. All solid examples of power. But pull back and open the aperture - examine why people need social services? That’s a different level of power analysis. Not necessarily better, but it puts the work of one agency in the context of movement. And having a larger context for our work is a political act. What do all death row lawyers go through? What is the experience of all Heads of School when it comes to ICE Raids? Occasionally, we need to look up and see ourselves as part of a larger fabric of community. White supremacy culture provokes us to look down, keep it about what I need, what my one organization needs. Stay small in my experience and my power analysis. 

What we failed to see happen with most traditional DEI programs is the centering of a power analysis. We cannot trust a “cant we all get along” program to actually make a dent for more marginalized voices in our workplaces, professional associations, coalitions or other communities. If we really want to dig into inequity and set a culture right, we must reckon with power. Rank, Social Identities, and Psychological Presence are dimensions along which power operates and makes itself known. Who has the power to hire and fire? What identities and personalities can get away with bending or ignoring rules, while others are censored for far less? Acts of unfairness, patterns of discrimination happen when power is abused. We can quibble (and god knows I have seen it go on for months) about the intention versus impact aspect of these abuses, but a DEI program that fails to address power dynamics is failing at the primary mission of inclusion. Inclusion is not about kindness. Inclusion is about a system that supports fairness and a process for addressing perceived inequities. Inclusion in a workplace is only as strong as the most marginalized voices say it is. As you and your friends or colleagues consider inclusion and equity, look around. What do the people with the least amount of agency in the room think?

Organizational Culture is my passion, and building solid, joyful, accountable cultures is my jam. Beyond Conflict’s Intentional Workplaces Project is in its 15th year. It feels authentic and values aligned to work with clients this way, given the reticence many folks are experiencing naming racial justice.

A quick note of thanks to all who have reached out inquiring about how I am managing while so much of my work becomes more dangerous or subjected to heedless scrutiny and the absurd new laws of the land. There have been some hiccups with clients pulling back or out all together and I have had far too many conversations along the lines of “but what can we call it?” referring to my anti-racism facilitation. In some cases, clients have had to prioritize other places in their budgets because of the shenanigans at the federal level, leaving me with less work than I’d like. However, there are those clients that have the privilege of being able to continue their work, and for these relationships and commitments, I am grateful. 

As you read this Postcard, I am at the Jewish Voice for Peace gathering, where I am taking in the power of a politicized Jewish community centered on the beliefs that all lives have worth, that we must not sit silently as the Gaza burns and that Never Again means Never Again. While there is organizing afoot and much to do about the current situation, the summer is also a time for self-love, healing and slowing down. There’s a summer full of pleasure and facilitation ahead for me. I am so looking forward to being held in a circle by the deeply wise and generous Katriona Ilsedottir O’Curry at her Body as Wise Healer retreat in British Columbia. Join me if this looks good to you! 

There Are Birds Here

By Jamaal May

For Detroit

There are birds here,

so many birds here

is what I was trying to say

when they said those birds were metaphors

for what is trapped

between buildings

and buildings. No.

The birds are here

to root around for bread

the girl’s hands tear

and toss like confetti. No,

I don’t mean the bread is torn like cotton,

I said confetti, and no

not the confetti

a tank can make of a building.

I mean the confetti

a boy can’t stop smiling about

and no his smile isn’t much

like a skeleton at all. And no

his neighborhood is not like a war zone.

I am trying to say

his neighborhood

is as tattered and feathered

as anything else,

as shadow pierced by sun

and light parted

by shadow-dance as anything else,

but they won’t stop saying

how lovely the ruins,

how ruined the lovely

children must be in that birdless city.

Provocations and Nourishment

Working People's State of the Union (video)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Great set of Podcasts about love, belonging, and politics from the Othering and Belonging Institute.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The Rise of End Times Fascism is a sobering validation of what is up at the moment.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Overcoming the Inertia of the Body

I’d like you to try a quick thought experiment: Imagine doing one intense workout in the course of a month...

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Organizing White Men for Social Justice: Let’s Build

There is a tremendous need for progressive men of all backgrounds to organize men. In the United States, this work is imperative.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

  The Rose that Grows in Concrete  (video)

The Love & Justice Quarterly Subscription Box

Each season, Love & Justice subscribers will get a box of BIPOC hand-crafted whimsy, and an invitation to connect to discuss the enclosed book.

Upcoming Opportunities

Valerie Kaur seeks stories of revolutionary love. Maybe you have one to share?

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Julie Gieseke’s creativity drop-ins are just the sweetness you may be looking for. Check out @mapthemind on Insta for more information about this free and heart-centered space.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Fall New Ancestors dates are UP! This coaching group for white women is where you share your heart, support others, make a plan and live into it. Fall group starts October 9th! Want to build more confidence centering antiracism in your life? Do you have questions about how to talk to your parents, spouse or kids as you deepen your racial justice commitments? Join us! Over 12 weeks, we meet for six group calls and you also receive two one one-on-one coaching sessions with me.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

 Privilege and Purpose: a retreat for white women seeking to close the wealth gap.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Toward Justice,

Evangeline

Please forward this blog to any of your friends working to build more just communities and organizations.