When VISIONS comes into an organization to do training or facilitate sessions, what is the one thing that almost always brings anger or resentment?
If whites feel blamed, they typically show this response. If people of color feel quieted in the expression of their experiences of racism, they often show this response.
How do you bring people together at the end of the sessions? What lessons can be learned from people opening up about their feelings around race and class and gender?
We typically help participants see through the process that the “isms” are societal forces that impact all of us. For many whites, this means also “trying on” that group identity is as important as individual identity. That’s often a hard lesson in the U.S. as we have such a cultural value on “individualism”. Yet it is critical. As people begin to understand that oppression is about the statistical odds for individuals based on their membership in groups in addition to their individual effort. Participants begin to see that in some ways they are in groups where the statistical odds are greater for “success” and in some groups the odds are less. This allows increased compassion and a desire to change the larger forces so that this is not present for anyone…
When does it do more harm than good? When leadership in an organization is not committed to exploring how to make changes at the rules, policies and practices in an organization; when they are just paying lip service, checking off the box. It leads to cynicism, political correctness AND a furthering of the belief that we have solved this problem. Another way to say this is to say that there is no “quick fix” for these issues and many organizations seek one.
What do organizations get from going head on into talking about race? Can things improve?
Learning to talk about race is a powerful tool for learning to talk about “difference” period. Organizations improve worker productivity as each employee feels valued. Learning to value and utilize similarities AND differences among employees directly affects the bottom line of any business. Because of our history, the first steps in this process can be difficult AND those organizations that stay with it, experience increased worker satisfaction, creativity and innovation. Employees also report that their family and community lives improve also.
Filed under: Valerie Batts
