When you think about resistance, what comes to mind?

You might be thinking of the New Year's resolution that you're struggling to follow, even though it has been just a few days. Or maybe you didn't make any resolutions, because you remember the resistance you hit last year!

You might be thinking of the toddler, or teenager, who refuses to follow directions.

You might be thinking about the gap between your plans and what actually happens.

Resistance seems destructive: It’s procrastination! It’s the team that intends to move in a certain direction but can’t quite get there. It’s the force holding organizations back from achieving their full potential.

Over time, I’ve learned to have respect for resistance. Resistance contains energy. When we acknowledge how we’re resisting, what we’re resisting, and the emotion that energy holds, we open up a path toward change.

As I work with teams on racial equity, I often notice resistance: Someone tells me something that is their truth – and also resists the true implications of living in a racist society.

In my last post, I wrote about Mike who was working on the noticing – putting our minds around how much violence, hatred, racism, unconscious bias, and microaggressions are embedded into our communities, organizations, and society.

Really taking that in is painful -- it involves our hearts breaking open.

The events earlier this year during the Spring and Summer 2020 reached a tipping point with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. After George Floyd was murdered, the hearts of people of all races from all over the world cracked wide open. Not just here, but people in other nations took to the streets – during a pandemic! – to express compassion and solidarity, asserting the importance of equality everywhere. It was breathtaking, that in such frightening times, people were able to move through their resistance to noticing the pervasiveness of racial inequity.

I am encouraged! I also know that it doesn’t stop there because there are other points of resistance.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard White leaders say, “We’d like more People of Color on our board or staff. We just don’t know any.”

And again, there is a part of me that wants to scream: Why do you think this is happening?

This is where analysis, the next step of the model of Liberatory Consciousness, comes in.

What does analysis mean?

One meaning is, “Why is this happening?”

When it comes to racism and inequity, articles, dissertations, and books have been written exploring why this is happening. These are all helpful tools for those of us who want to engage in anti-racist activities to denounce discrimination in any form. We each need to keep reading, learning, and understanding.

But honestly, there comes a point at which we know enough, at least intellectually. When we hit that threshold, learning more can become an excuse and a place of resistance. We know much of what is happening, we have a sense of the history and root causes. Much like Mike and his efforts, we notice it and seek it out when it happens.

There is still work to be done. It’s there where we each need to journey inward and explore a very different question: “How am I contributing to racial inequality?”

Let’s pause there for a moment. I have to say that, before I started working on any of this, if anyone had accused me of directly contributing to racial inequality, I would have been irate. After all, I’ve always considered myself someone who gives everyone a chance and am willing to welcome people from all walks of life. That question is a provocation – in my own life, I would say that I haven’t done anything to deserve such an accusation.

And that’s exactly right; the society in which we live might not be not caused by my – or your – actions in particular. Yet we live in a racist society.

So not doing anything isn’t enough – we need to each actively work towards a different model for our society, directly engaging with communities and organizations. This is the foundation for the idea of anti-racism.

Another way to ask this question is, “What power do I have? And how am I using that power right now?”

This question is very relevant to nonprofit board and staff members — or to anyone who has a leadership role.

One aspect of this is acknowledging and noticing White privilege and how that shows up in ourselves, certainly, but also in our organizations. As an example, sometimes that looks like individual leaders mentoring others from a similar background since those mentees feel more comfortable. Other times it is hiring for “cultural fit,” which turns into a White dominant and led organization. If White people are setting the culture, then we’re effectively excluding those who are different.

Much like I told the White leaders to whom I referred earlier, if you want to bring in people from different racial backgrounds, you have to cross some boundaries. You may need to do some detective work to think about where to find leaders from different racial backgrounds. You need to examine your own values to think about why multiple perspectives are needed. This will also hopefully align with your mission as a nonprofit, to discover and engage in communities of people with different backgrounds. Let’s face it – we always need as much help as we can get. Seeking volunteers is a great way to get to know potential long-term teammates.

The good news is that, as we have been talking about, this work is about love. When we look at how we resist acknowledging our own part of contributing to inequity, we begin to get in touch with the parts of ourselves that honor and celebrate each person – that want each person – on our teams, in our organizations, and in our communities, to prosper.

Note: this is Part 3 of a 5 part series.

Read Part 1 here: Whenever given the choice, choose love

Read Part 2 here: The powerful and heart-centered act of noticing

Part 4 here: In a dangerous moment, take strong action

Part 5 here: For a more compassionate world, we need accountability