Testing My Views

Anti-racism is an active and conscious effort to work against multidimensional aspects of racism

I have had significant exposure to diversity, equity and inclusion methods, critical race theory, and other social justice movements as part of my work in organization development. But it is only in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, and in the national conversation about race, that I have become more acquainted with the concept of anti-racism.

This term has diffused origins, having been around since the late 1770s, and it’s been used in a variety of ways over time, but today, the most widely accepted description comes from Ibram X. Kendi’s 2019 book, How to Be an Anti-Racist. In it, he wrote: “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it – and then dismantle it.” The important thing about anti-racism is action. Robert J. Patterson, a professor of African American Studies at Georgetown University calls anti-racism an active and conscious effort to work against multidimensional aspects of racism.”

Some say, for white people, this involves getting past white shame and guilt, but I think, as complicated as that sounds, it’s more complicated than that. As I expressed in a previous post, it can also be about removing the barriers of pride and arrogance. For white people, anti-racism involves being humble and really thinking critically about how race matters, even in seemingly nonracial contexts.

The point of this blog, however, is not to be a lesson in anti-racism. It is for me to think about ways that I can be an anti-racist. What is my sphere of influence? How can I reshape views through conversations and by using my privilege? How do my views hold up in the current climate of anti-racism.

An interesting byproduct of blogging is that I have a record of what I was thinking prior to integrating the concept of anti-racism into my work. So, I went back to these blogs to put them through an anti-racism test and to challenge my past thinking against the views of anti-racism. In doing this I found that the mindset of anti-racism matches well with my expertise in organization development.

By consistently returning to the logics of Kurt Lewin like in the blog about the Marshmallow Test, and emphasizing the importance of outside perspectives like in the blog Thinking like a Jazz Musician, or in blogs like Making Sense in Times of Uncertainty and, And We’re Gonna Be Alright, where I touch on expanding a repertoire of thinking, improvisation and adopting an affirmative mindset. Even in blogs that have no racial context like, My Allergy to Recognition Programs, I point out the cultural difference between recognition and support, and how it can affect organizational performance in the long-term.

I’ve consistently tried to bring out how organization development is situated in “the realm of problems,” especially socially significant problems and how its usefulness comes from asking better questions and recognizing the profound interconnections between change in a person, change in groups and change in a system. I’ve also written about how organization development started as an intellectual movement responding to oppressive modes of management and over time has continued to provide ways to resolve conflict, to create greater flexibility and resiliency in individuals and help organizations cope with turbulent environments. All of this fits with the actions required to be anti-racist.

After going through my blogs, I made only one edit related to an anti-racist view in the blog entitled Perspective Transformation. In it I said that the worldwide peaceful protests and Black Lives Matter demonstrations over the death of George Floyd couldn’t have been predicted. I have deleted that statement in recognition of how there are Black, Indigenous and other People of Color who have been talking about for a very long time. It was me who didn’t see it coming. Now, in hindsight, and through the lens of anti-racism, I can see how this was very predictable – it was only a matter of time.