Going back to normal? The answer should be no!
It’s been 5 weeks since the protests began and almost 5 weeks since so many of us participated in #blackoutTuesday. Your lifestyle, social media pages, and the way you approach your job should not be going back to “normal.” Going back to normal means going back to ignoring racism and the racial inequities and injustices happening in our country every day. These inequities and injustices are not new but they are consistent.
What would be new is doing something that promotes progress and creates change. Here are a few questions to get you started:
Who are you? Make a list of adjectives, nouns, and key phrases that describe you.
What do you value and why? What don’t you value and why?
What feelings come up for you when you think about the racial injustices and inequities that exist in our country? Why are these the feelings that are coming up? What experiences have you had that lead to these feelings?
Who do you want to be for yourself and for others? Why?
What is your platform? Think about both your job and lifestyle.
How can you use the platform(s) you have already created for yourself to promote progress consistently?
A quick word on consistency: Consistently means that your actions and behavior promote progress (no matter how big or small) every day. Consistency is in how often you promote progress - once a year, once a month, almost every day (inconsistent) versus every day (consistent). When you are inconsistent, especially in talking about the racial inequities in our country, you are sending the message that you only care when it’s on the news or you only care when it’s trending or you only care when it benefits your own cause. This inconsistency does not lead to eventual change. On the other hand, taking steps (even if they feel small) demonstrates unity, builds trust, and, ultimately, leads to change - change in approach, process, systems, policies, laws, etc. This consistency leads to a country where every single person is truly free (no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, identity, beliefs, or culture).
You might ask now, how do I do it - how do I maintain this consistency? You need to be more intentional in your approach, your behavior, the decisions you make, and the action steps you take every day. You need to make these actions clear, tangible, and observable. You need to reflect on this question every day - how did I promote progress today? why/why not? You need to call yourself out or have a buddy do that for you.
There is great power in consistency - are you ready for to be more consistent?
