Author: Leigh Morrison

A Point of View: Essential History for White Women

Some people watched the story of Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper unfold with confusion, or by giving her the benefit of the doubt. To others, this situation underscored an intentional effort to weaponize the “purity” of white womanhood against a Black man. The key difference is that some people have the context of a horrific history of white women weaponizing their whiteness — specifically against Black men — and others remain unaware of this trend throughout history. 

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DEI Beyond the Boardroom: History Untold, History Unlearned

I would argue that, despite studying heroic Black figures, I did not learn about Black excellence — but rather about a romanticized notion of Black resilience in the face of systemic racism. I learned about Blackness if and only if it was acceptable, meaning centering white comfort. I now understand how these omissions were an enormous disservice to my own learning and understanding as a white person. The only beneficiary of these representations being absent from school curriculum is white supremacy. 

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DEI Beyond the Boardroom: An Introduction

There are no two ways about it: a siloed approach to “workplace D&I” devoid of attention and action to the rest of our world is not just flawed, it is fundamentally failing to bring about the progress we need. In our forthcoming “Beyond the Boardroom” series, we take an even wider view of the racial justice work that must be done outside of the workplace. We challenge organizational leaders to engage outside of the boardroom in a far-reaching, justice-driven campaign to combat systemic racism.

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Beyond the Rhetoric—Centering Justice and Anti-Racism in our DEI Strategy: Leveraging Adult Learning Practices

In recent weeks, DEI consultants and facilitators have been inundated with requests for educational sessions responding to the current racial and sociopolitical climate. This learning is essential and long overdue. And it also has the potential to be transformative for individuals and organizations alike—when it’s done right. It is critical that those tasked with designing learning experiences leverage these best practices in service of racial justice understanding. 

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Decolonizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work: … Means Naming White Supremacy Culture [In Ourselves] Part III

Last week, Brittany J. Harris modeled the reflection that she encouraged our readers to participate in—considering how and where white supremacy culture and its values show up in her work. This week, I take on the same challenge. While I had previously tracked several of these as weaknesses in my work, I had not necessarily paused to reflect on ways that they may be based in white supremacy. This exercise challenged me to think more critically about my practices and how I may have internalized the harmful norms that shape them.

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Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change

Racial Justice at Work book cover

Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy and Belonging Across Differences

We Can’t Talk About That At Work! (Second Edition)

Cover of the book We Can't Talk about That at Work (Second Edition) by Mary-Frances Winters and Mareisha N Reese

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