ADVOCATE.
Resourcing Radical Justice (RRJ) explores opportunities for change, both inside and outside of philanthropy.
BACKGROUND:
The trajectory of our current work began in July 2020 when the RRJ Advocacy Committee released a survey to Black people and other people of color in our local philanthropic sector to share stories about their experiences of interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism. Unsurprisingly, hurt and harm had been repeatedly perpetuated among those working in the DMV region. Major themes collected included:
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White mediocrity rewarded and protected time and again in the normal course of our work;
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BIPOC/global majority people being underpaid, overworked, and actively excluded from advancement opportunities;
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Tokenism through structures, practices and workplace cultures treat BIPOC/global majority people as representatives of their race;
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The centrality of anti-Blackness and the individual and collective trauma it repeatedly inflicts on Black people;
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Other people of color/of the global majority bearing witness to anti-Blackness and the secondary trauma that it inflicts;
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Fear of retaliation from others if they were to speak out about the racism they experienced in the sector.
The advocacy committee seeks to actively reimagine philanthropy and take radical action that repairs injustice and fosters liberation for Black people and people of the global majority both inside and outside of the sector.
Strategy: Bring our peers together to both heal from the trauma of working within the philanthropic sector and to reimagine a sector that centers the lived reality of Black people and people of the global majority
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Actions: Build trusting relationships and collective power with philanthropic peers; Use our collective power to advocate for philanthropic transformation; Build, share, and wield our collective power with grassroots partners to advocate for systems change
Impact: Strong relationships rooted in liberating practice and systemic change both inside and outside of the philanthropic sector
OUR THEORY OF CHANGE:
HEALING RETREAT FOR BLACK PEOPLE AND PEOPLE OF THE GLOBAL MAJORITY IN DMV PHILANTHROPY:
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With the need to address racism in the sector mounting, the RRJ Advocacy Committee saw an opportunity for the local BIPOC/global majority philanthropy community to come together and share in centering truth, liberation, and brilliance to:
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Reimagine how philanthropy and other workplaces dominated by a false hierarchy of human value are experienced; and
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Clarify any collective action that might be taken to address the sector. The space created for this purpose was the “Healing Retreat for Black People and People of the Global Majority in DMV Philanthropy.”
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The retreat, held over two days in October 2020, sought to honor the practices and traditions within our communities that support the healing process. Retreat participants shared in art, storytelling, and reflection, which lifted up the continued need for restoration of relationships and reparation of harm.
We commissioned a visual artist and a poet to create art inspired by the survey results. Both works were released during the retreat.
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"When Mountains Collide" by Rebecca Crouch
Rebecca Crouch: www.rdcartgallery.com | Facebook: @RachelandRebeccaArt | Instagram: @rdcartgallery
"We Are Tired." by Charity Blackwell
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How do you expect me to joyfully consistently show up as my full self
Expect me to swallow the jagged pills of oppression and endure the cuts of microaggression
And put my trauma on the shelf?
I am tired.. We are tired
Tired of running and gunning this rigged race
At the same pace but no advancement just running in place
You ignore the hurdles I jumped, the blood sweat and tears I’ve embrace
To only be given the smallest portion of pie from the plate
But you say
You finally got a piece of the pie!
Just be lucky that you ate
So yes I am tired,
We are tired of from the hunger our stomachs ache
Tire of the empty promises, with no devotion,
Just an ocean of washed emotions
And just going through the motions
Like that promotion rewarded to white mediocrity
But the expectation for nothing less than greatness from me
Oh the hypocrisy
It’s a monopoly
Or just like the time my expressed ideas were suppressed
But that same ideas from my white colleagues were deemed the best
I'm tired of continuously having to digest the stress of working
In white centered spaces
Tired of the confusion from the “colorblind” illusion
Tired of being tokened as the face of Diversity and Inclusion
Tired of being the caretaker for white fragility
Tired of masking my trauma to display civility
Tired of the isolation in my work community
Smothered in the virus of racism and
I need immunity
Stop telling me you voted for Obama,
Stop telling me how many black friends you can count on one hand
Stop asking me, “Are you ok?” or “I'm so sorry”
After there is a killing of a defenseless black man
Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed I just want to cry shout
See How do you expect me to joyfully consistently show up as my full self
Expect me to swallow the jagged pills of oppression and endure the cuts of microaggression
And put my trauma on the shelf?
I feel suffocated, gagged, you know, fear of damnation
Fear if I speak out, they’ll lash out with retaliation
So I am tired, we are tired
Tired from running in place
Tired from fidgeting in a straitjacket
Tired from shouting and from a gagged mouth
But nonetheless, we still clock in
Still find the ability to pour into others when we ourselves are depleted
Still show up
Still speak up
Still outperform
Still outsmart
We Dust off our Armor and keep it pushing because we be great like that
Keep it pushing for those before use, with us and after
We have the power to shatter the glass ceiling that has hovered over us like dark cloud for so long
But always know that it's ok to be tired.
I’m tired…
WE are tired….
Just know you are not alone