Colleagues,
We know in our hearts and minds that we need to do things differently. Whatever shifts we implement, whatever change we create, since we seek to do the deep work of social justice and liberation, we know we must do it together.
Our bodies carry tension every day and our complicated emotions mirror the conditions that surround us. We are tired, frustrated, and perhaps even cynical. And yet we know what we know, and we believe more fervently than ever that things can and should be better.
This has been an exceptionally challenging year on many levels, not just for us as a country, but as an organization. Without clear leadership that embodies transparency, accountability, and a demonstrated commitment to move towards more just and equitable futures, we have felt left to our own devices. We have been forced to maintain. Since most leaders are groomed to uphold the systems that elevated them, many of us are already quite adept at skillfully ‘managing up’ and being resourceful in how we push for change, but at times, even we may be tempted to put our heads down and just go through the motions to make it through another day.
What’s at risk?
Our roles become our jobs, our purpose becomes a paycheck, and we begin to look elsewhere for alternatives that might provide an out–even if it’s just what we daydream about when overwhelmed by our anxieties. We long for evidence that the institution for which we labor values and encourages our efforts. Perhaps we are tempted to compartmentalize, to “do what we need to do” by cutting ourselves off from our truths and our feelings, but this violates our need and desire for stronger personal and professional alignment.
We need more integration, not less.
Anything else is an insult to our integrity. And the toll of these coping strategies is significant–not only do they inhibit our growth and abundance in how we honor ourselves and serve others, but such sour dissonance can make us sick.
We know when we isolate, or rather, when we are isolated and made distant from one another, our ability to thrive, innovate, and lead our communities towards better outcomes is diminished. This is a natural consequence of separation and alienation. It is a tactic that has been used for centuries to discredit, discourage, and weaken movements for change. It is a symptom of an overbearing power that ultimately seeks to control and regulate access, influence, and information (even if unconsciously), in part to maintain power, but also because it does not fully appreciate, understand, or believe in the power of the collective to see, design, and cultivate more revolutionary and liberated ways of doing things.
That kind of power doesn’t imagine what we imagine. It doesn’t see what we see.
In a culture that seeks to preserve and hoard power, utterances by disruptors who mention means for resistance are perceived as threats to be quashed. They are not recognized as demonstrations of a will, a belief, a commitment to always create possibilities for progress and change. They certainly are not appreciated as reflections of values like inclusion, integrity, respect, service, and social justice.
Those in positions of power may claim to be in favor of inclusion, equity, even institutional transformation, but unfortunately, too often they lack a developed sense for what this looks like and what it requires. From such a position of ignorance or insecurity, nervous defensiveness reacts when confronted with a pathway to implement meaningful change. Equitable alternatives, creative interventions, and innovative approaches that break from the status quo are deemed too impractical or challenging, if not simply because, to them, these possibilities are unintelligible, incomprehensible, even unfathomable.
Colleagues, if you are feeling frustrated, unheard, and unsupported by those who set the current way of doing things, it is because they aren’t set up to support us, or perhaps the realities we long for and present are still too strange for decision-makers to not feel ego-vulnerable, befuddled, or afraid. Practically speaking, when we embrace and animate our yearning to bring freedom and liberation into our daily existence, they don’t hear us. Perhaps they can’t grasp what we are saying. And so, whether they mean to or not, they drain our energy, exploit our talents, and they restrict, undermine, or thwart our projects.
When we crave to not just function but flourish, to not just fulfill our duties but embody our values, being able to maintain in such systems is no small feat, but it can still feel like hollow disappointment.
And this is on top of the pain, anger, hurt, and trauma we carry from years of navigating spaces and interactions that consistently neglect, dismiss, or actively harm us. While we are committed to our own practices of care and healing, these burdens get heavier the longer we are forced to hold them alone or in shadow. In light of current affairs, considering what we’ve already endured and the likelihood that structural and systemic barriers will persist (or become more inequitable, more intractable), our resilience and fortitude to make it to and through each day is certainly admirable. But in our heart of hearts, we know there is another way.
It is imperative for us to stay together and create on our own terms.
We need community, support, and relationships to enhance our excellence and do the important work we know is meaningful and significant, work we know extends beyond our professional duties and necessarily includes how we honor our humanity in every way, every day. Most importantly, we can do the work we most believe in right now–we don’t have to wait. We only need community and an unwavering foundation of care and support for one another, so long as we can remain invested in and committed to our shared liberation.
Yes, we are willing to fight and resist, but our motivation is tied to something much greater–the right to exist in a world where the diversity of our bodies, experiences, cultures, histories, communities, identities, and relationships to one another in life, love, and creative vitality is so lush it can’t help but seed potentialities that maybe we, ourselves, haven’t even imagined yet. Those unknowns are not frightening to us. They are exhilarating precisely because they exist at the cusp of healing and possibility.
Those of us who know these things and feel them resonate, we are already here.
As individuals, we are talented and strong, but unfortunately, we also know the extent to which our gifts, skills, passions, and insights are undervalued and underutilized. And we are among the most generous, if only those who could elevate and leverage our contributions were truly receptive to what we have to give.
As a collective, our power is palpable.
Because we are Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, because we come from different spaces, places, and backgrounds that shape how we understand the narrowness of dominating views around class, ability, and gender, and because we are aware of the richness and beauty all this diversity truly provides us and others, we have even more to offer.
Together, we can build trust as we deepen our skills. Together, we can support each other in our work that is intersectional, that invests in those who are most marginalized, and that takes down barriers for those who deserve so much more than what our institutions have thus far been willing to provide.
We already know the strength of our vision, values, and commitment, and the capacity within us to work for real change.
We know that strength as what makes it possible for us to navigate the inherent messiness, ambiguity, and contradictions that arise when doing liberation work that honors and respects our differences. Yes, we demand and expect a solid and robust investment in each other and our shared liberation, but we do not anticipate a simple process, expect linear pathways, or desire singular outcomes.
One of our greatest strategies is nurturing and renewing connections among us that enhance, uplift, and energize us. However, because of the systems that categorize and ostracize us from one another, difficult conversations are a given. In turn, sharing, listening, staying present, and responding with intentionality is a necessity.
We know the harm we are capable of inflicting, especially when our intent misaligns with our impact, but our investments in the relationships we have with one another present possibilities for us to heal and repair. Any pressure for perfection is overridden by our desire for growth. We are always willing to lean into and soften our learning edges–individually and collectively–and we know that learning how to skillfully address challenges, conflicts, and misunderstandings is core to our work.
We also know the best way to move through these things is with a lot of care, honesty, accountability, and support for one another. This is fundamental. It is the basis for all our actions, to which we can and must always return. We don’t need established systems to do this. We need each other.
Taking on oppressive systems as they show up within and outside of ourselves requires persistence, stamina, and faith in our capacity to be and become those who do and can dismantle as we build. The most compelling proof of the validity of our beliefs about liberation is found in who we are, what we do, and how we choose to show up for one another. Again. And again. And again.
Yes, this is difficult and challenging work, but it is also a site for redemption and inspiration. When we create ways to recognize each other, we acknowledge we are not alone as we continue pushing to make things better. We support each other’s successes, and we are enriched in the process. When we share our insights, tactics, aspirations, and goals, we expand our collective understanding and catalyze new ways of doing and being–as leaders, colleagues, professionals, friends, and people in community. We are among our greatest assets for we bring critical wisdom, expertise, experience, and drive to advancing issues of social justice.
Even when it seems like an institution is too eager to take us for granted, we know who we are. We can find and support each other. Doing so is important and worthwhile on its own, and it’s what many of us have already done because we’ve had to.
Let us dig deeper and wider.
In the months and years ahead, it may not be enough to keep all of us here as employees, but in the meantime, it may be exactly what we need to know we show up for work as part of a larger movement, connected in community. As resources onto ourselves, we will persist no matter the conditions that surround us. We can pour our energy and efforts into responding to our own needs and supporting those who most need us to keep doing our best work. We can build coalitions. We can mobilize into action. We can sharpen our skills, celebrate our efforts, and stand together in our values.
When we convene out of shared commitments, we create space where we can breathe and exist more fully, where we can let our guard down because we are committed to protecting each other. We value honesty and authenticity, so we will listen when necessary, speak truth to power, and always do better for one another.
Out of love. Out of respect. Out of principle.
We will be unapologetic and unwavering in our commitments to equity, justice, and doing what is right to advance those ends, whether we move through stretches of joy, grief, or uncertainty. We know that what matters most is not just wanting to arrive at a new place but acting in ways that will actually get us there, together. These are our commitments, and they are significant because they inform our processes and practices for how we will continue doing things differently. Fundamentally.
If this message resonates, know there are others who think and feel and work alongside you. There are also others who desperately want and need to do this work with you. Of course we embody differences, and we may not yet know or fully trust each other, but our commitments can bind us. Because of what we feel and know about liberation, love, and building different futures, we can do so much more.
What next? Share this message with a colleague who many want or need to read it, especially if they’ve been limited to holding more potential than they’ve been granted access to institutional power. Reassure them you’ve got their back. Let them know that whatever you build, you’re in it together.