The Whisper of Dreams
It all begins with an idea.
The summer my eldest daughter left the sunny coasts of California for college in fast-paced Manhattan, I re-read Zora Neal Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Whether it was the Fates acting in my best interest or simply the familiar colors on the spine of the worn book that caused the text to catch my eye that day, I may never know. Nonetheless, the life challenges and victories, the poignant, hard-fought life-lessons, and the rites of passage of womanhood were the words I read as I prepared to send my girl-child thousands of miles away. I have read the book so many times now, I can nearly quote the lines.
That summer, the words of Zora, brought to life by her protagonist Janie, caused my dreams to whisper...
“She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight. So this was a marriage! She had been summoned to behold a revelation. Then Janie felt a pain remorseless sweet that left her limp and languid”
~Zore Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937
In 1937, Zora Neale Hurston was a thirty-something year old Colored woman when she penned Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie Crawford, Hurston's central character in Their Eyes... has her sexuality awakened at age sixteen under a blossoming pear tree with only the bees, the breeze, and the grass she lies upon to bear witness to the fateful moment. Hurston writes with such eloquence, insight, and passion that the reader is humbled by the beautiful innocence of Janie's rite of passage into womanhood...I was – I am each and every time I have read the book.
Three quarters of a century later, as I, slightly older than Hurston was when she wrote this novel, read the seemingly perfect prose of this literary masterpiece, know that my daughters' dreams are not the only dreams that were whispering that fateful summer. Their Eyes Were Watching God, the book that somehow always has a message for me, was yet again working its magic and resonating so deeply - it was awakening my dreams.
Just as I slid easily into the poetic prose of Hurston's novel, I would offer up part of my story to you, my reader. I would ask that you allow your mind to ease into my words and hope that at the end of my sharing, you know a bit more about me - what drives me, what my passions are, and why service is my calling.
Simply put, service is my birthright! I come from a long line of women who, as maids, childcare providers, church founders, union leaders, community organizers, teachers, nurses, doctors, and midwives when hospital births were not an option for some women, lived their lives in service to others. The Honorable, Shirley Chisolm once famously said, "Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.” That is the legacy I come from...the voices of my ancestors are the whispered dreams that continue guiding my path toward service.
Last summer, when I re-read Their Eyes Were Watching God, I read for hours nonstop, and when I put the book down, the characters continued their lives with such vibrancy in my mind that when I turned the last page and read the final word, they still lived on...they still laughed and cried, lived and died. That's the impact I want to have...I want a legacy that touches the lives of people to their core.
We stand on the precipice of change…I feel it with every fiber of my being. My personal and intellectual power has no bounds as I hold fast to this journey of service.
My dreams are whispering to me that I am supposed to be a part of the change I want to see in the world...and I am listening to them.
*TRIGGER WARNING* Beware the Proverbial Noose, Black Equity Leaders
I’m struck tonight by this incessant and uncompromising tug on my emotional heartstrings…
My psyche and spirit are shouting and clawing at me..at how much I’m faking the funk and camouflaging. I am troubled by how much emotional and intellectual energy I spend tidying up my story and making it more palatable for their ears. My core values are shouting in my head due to the lack of alignment with these jobs I have been applying and interviewing for. I tell myself that it’s my consolation prize that at least I can still hear my voice, even if I have to keep it all inside.
I know they think they’re looking for the well-spoken, kind of hip, relevant, don’t forget “diverse”, I mean “token”, I mean Black woman to hire – one who will sign on the dotted line, and accept her annual performance goal to effectuate swift change in and throughout the entire organization, be doggedly data-driven (but ignore people’s real stories and experiences), mitigate each and every conceived of risk in this space with unfailing best practice interventions, and literally shift their culture paradigm systemically, Q1.
When I know…I have actual lived experiences, I see it in the job descriptions, I hear it from my peers in this space, companies don’t really want to do the necessary work to make substantive, true, and meaningful change…nope. They have worked hard to become organizations that have a symbiotic relationship with systemic discrimination, injustice, and inequities.
I KNOW I’m not the only one who has seen the modern day lynchings of Black diversity leaders in corporate America…
So often the PR machines of companies are making headlines ushering their diverse new superstar through their doors. “Check out our shiny new Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer!” That is until the first civil rights-related lawsuit of drinking-Starbucks-while-Black incident happens. Then that same “diverse” superstar hire has somehow fallen from grace and gotten themselves fired, after being unable to solve overnight the problems associated with a company whose employees have endured years of systemic inequities and unjust behaviors while at work. Next thing we see, said “diverse” superstar hire gets the boot after being unable to whip out her magic wand from Wakanda and fix it all …go figure.
Hey companies looking to hire in this space…it’s definitely a red flag when a candidate asks about the synchronicity of Diversity & Belonging with Legal Counsel, Compliance & Ethics, the C-Suite, and the Board. Without an integrative approach and access to ALL of the levers that impact and drive organizational culture, change will only be a function of how well your Comms team can spin the troublesome PR stories…it will only be superficial and external facing. It won’t have any impact on the way the internal culture feels to your workforce, their feelings of belonging, or any diversity-related metrics you’re trying to improve…it just won’t.
And, I simply cannot take another fallen comrade.
But I’m Free, Ain’t I?
While peaceful sleep evades me this night…
That incessant interview inquiry repeats itself like a mantra in my head, “So, why are you leaving anyway…SO, why are you leaving…WHY???”
I somewhat confidently tell myself that I’ve thought about this, and with a nonchalant shoulder shrug whisper to self: “Self - you’ve crafted the best answer you possibly could. You’ve gotten so colorfully “smart” with your answers about “the future of work” and how “the dynamic workforce is catalyzing you to reinvent yourself - realign what you do day in and day out professionally, with your passions and core values.
They seem to be buying it, but is it true…is it MY truth? No, it’s not, its definitely not. The unedited, and simple truth of the matter is that my activism, my dedication to justice and equity, and my fight against racist and sexist injustices in the workplace have kicked my behind, had major repercussions, painful consequences, and I have an accounting of every single receipt to prove it!
Pondering….freedom perhaps?
The esteemed poet Phyllis Wheatley - born enslaved in 1753, she was the very 1st published Black American, and died impoverished at age 31 in 1784.
Caffeine Makes Me Jittery…I Prefer Herbal Tea
Some pre-COVID-19 musings…
I get it…I swear I do. I mean, EVERYTHING I read and hear today about “THE FUTURE OF WORK” from seemingly trustworthy and well-renowned workforce strategy experts are saying it’s simple really - 1) the needs of companies are perpetually shifting, and 2) the ways with which we solve the problems of companies shifts with time as well. Sooooooo, the actual work of any given company is invariably going to change too, and technology is constantly changing, and the skills to do these jobs is ever-evolving, and the people with the skills are changing…IT’S ALL CHANGING! Recall that I prefaced all of this with, “I get it…I swear I do.”
We’ll leave for another chat the fact that I believe any true equity-minded (meaning social justice advocate & freedom fighter) professional’s first and very real struggle is the fact that “work” for most of the world is founded in oppression and the strategic and intentional division of those with power and privilege. And that, my dear readers has not changed one iota! It is fundamental to understanding how true and meaningful - I mean paradigm-shifting changes for our current and future workforce must be grounded in equity and justice!
“…if you really want me to come to your tea party, stay, feel safe, and enjoy myself enough to bring my best and most authentic self, you’ve got to have offerings…”
Diversity professionals/consultants/strategists (or whatever you call us folxs who align ourselves with workforce equity) spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince companies that 1) it’s not simply about opening and widening the pipeline of diverse talent and then counting the numbers of an increasingly diverse demographic, 2) it’s not only about uncovering the needs of their diverse workforce, and then developing thru oftentimes inappropriate, triggering, and intrusive employee survey assessments, an ineffective dashboard of diversity-related metrics to shop the ROI of diversity with, 3) it’s not singularly about ear-marking massive financial resources, or making a high-profile “diverse” hire to tokenize and set-up for failure, 4) it’s certainly not an effective strategy to continue developing short-term diversity programs, initiatives, or interventions that ignore or aren’t designed to even effectively address and meet the needs to increase inclusivity & Belonging, and 5) it’s most certainly not helpful and it’s actually quite harmful to keep fueling and funding the PR machine highlighting the company’s latest homeless initiative or Community Benefit dollar spend while trying to hide systemic inequities their employees face day in and day out… . clearly, I could go on.
Nope, if you really want me to come to your tea party, stay, feel safe, and enjoy myself enough to bring my best and most authentic self, you’ve got to have offerings of chamomile tea, honey, AND a gender-neutral restroom for my friend. AND, it’s got to be a part of the regular order of things, and not only available because I had to ask (and ask, and ask, and ask again, and then get outed as an herbal tea-drinker for asking).
Simply put, it must begin with a baseline of inclusion that is built into and throughout the organizational design. Your policies, procedures have to be inclusive, your culture must ooze inclusivity and accommodate the needs and differences of ALL of your employees through policies and organizational norms, which means it respects and welcomes diversity of thought, experience, and background, promotes psychological safety for ALL, and integrates inclusive philosophy into all formalized HR procedures…and it must be grounded in equity and justice so that power and privilege dynamics can be addressed.
“…outed as an herbal tea-drinker…”
Then and only then will ongoing assessment of an ever-changing diverse workforce, along with constant infusions into a long-term diversity-equity-inclusion strategy, and the ability to (with integrity) pivot quickly and tweak things according to the constantly evolving landscape of needs for your diverse workforce, begin to even scratch the surface of meaningful change.
Revolutionary Borndays
This Black Woman's #BornDay Musings...
With the horrors of our continued #BLACK vulnerability in full and undeniable view...
With the terror we experience, and the fury we internalize from each and every #BLACK life lost to disease and violence...
When the simple act of breathing and being is dangerous...
When our #BLACK existence itself feels like a revolutionary act...
On this Born Day today, in the sunshine with the progeny of my womb, I'm deeply committed to fully experiencing this joyous expression of my life, and another rotation around the sun! This is my #REVOLUTION!
I'm weaponizing my #LOVE...it's my middle finger to all the systemic inequities and racial aggressions chasing us! #LOVE wins! So, let's #LOVE!
#GRATITUDE for all the #BornDay well wishes!!!
#EQUITY&INCLUSION
#EliminateHealthDisparities
~Shelby
*Skating Skills: I own*
*Video-editing Skills: Nia McMillan (the progeny heading to #USC*)
*I don't own rights to music*