Unless you are living under a rock you have probably heard about Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks. You don’t even have to be a sports fanatic (I’m surely not!) to know that Jeremy Lin is the new NBA sensation. But...
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Polarization permeates my life as a Black individual, a vegan, and a Christian. From discussions about the prevalence of racism, to the role of Christian doctrine, even to decisions about my diet, I am often emotionally overwhelmed. I attempt to use this model when I enter these potentially polarizing discussions.
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Without the stories behind the data, we use our own limited lens to draw conclusions. “We did not hire more BIPOC into leadership because there is a lack of qualified candidates” tells a very different story from “We did not look in the right places” or “we did not acknowledge our own biases and criteria derived from a dominant culture mindset.”
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Entering the workforce, I was taught that to survive and succeed I’d need to sacrifice everything about myself, and only then would I master “professionalism.” I was mentored to mask my personhood and humanity into a small, shallow, tight box that was intentionally designed to suffocate me with white norms. If I conquered that tightrope, if I became the most revered and beloved acrobat of white comfort and obedience, then surely I would be rewarded with “success.”
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“I don’t see color.” “I treat everyone the same.” “All lives matter.” We’ve all heard these phrases; many of us have said one or more of them—probably with good intentions in mind. Today, in the first installment of our Unpacking Conversations that Matter feature series, I’ll be “unpacking” the harmful messages included in these sentiments and offering some suggestions for how to respond if you encounter them.
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