Engage: How the George Floyd Protests Connect with Your Workplace

This past weekend brought protests across the United States and elsewhere in the world, following George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis and the systemic racism and white supremacy that his death symbolized – just the latest in a long line of countless examples. While in some locations the police stood in solidarity with the protesters, taking a knee, or marched with them, this hasn’t been the case in many cities, with dozens more incidents of violence adding to the trauma that communities, families, and individuals are experiencing.

Our individual experiences are unique, but everybody brings their individual experience into their work, whether explicitly or buried under the surface. As Danielle Cadet’s piece on Refinery29 says, “[Dear white people…] your black colleagues may look like they’re okay — chances are they’re not.” 

While these issues are large and complex – and regardless of your role in your organization – you can work towards an equitable and inclusive environment for you and for your colleagues and clients.

This Week’s Tip:

Check in with your own emotions about what’s happening, and take time to engage in resources to build equity:

• Take a look at resource lists that friends and colleagues are sharing, including organizations to follow, articles to read, videos to watch and more.
• Find a book or two from one of the many booklists that are available online, including the New York Times and Building Bridges Leadership. We particularly recommend White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
  by Robin DiAngelo, featured below.
• Learn more about ‘recognizing and dismantling your own anti-blackness‘.
• If you are a manager, read Jay Smith’s Open Letter to Managers of Black Employees. As he says in this piece, “now is not the time to dismiss the news.”

Try this out this week, and let us know how it goes in our Facebook group! We’d love to hear from you. As always, you can subscribe to our feed here, or sign up for our weekly newsletter to get these articles directly in your inbox.