In this blog, Mia Henry, CEO of Freedom Lifted, reclaims “wokeness” through describing the triangle of self-awareness in justice and equity work. In acknowledging how we’ve experienced oppression, oppressed others and resisted, we grow from victims, saviors and self-righteous activists to humble and trusted leaders. We are called to commit to healing, be accountable and act with humility. It’s time for those who believe in social awareness/consciousness-raising/political education work to reclaim the term “woke.” We don’t “stay woke” to hurt others, but to do the work fully aware of our own personal commitments to healing ourselves, being accountable to others, and work to dismantle oppressive systems with empathy and humility.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how even good people are often unhappy with the training they’ve experienced and what we can do about it. After reflecting on my own experiences participating in employer-sponsored DEI trainings, I recently headed to LinkedIn and asked “Why do people dread DEI trainings?” I’ve compiled a list of some of the reasons these experiences are often frustrating.

Shared power requires that we see power as abundant, not scarce. We must think about what power is and dominance as two different things. We must see power is being available to all, regardless of identity.

Mia Henry interviews Erin Butler on how and what it means to use data and data collection to improve justice + equity training and serve social movements.

A reflective and sincere apology is a necessary first step for any possibility of shifting a relationship. In the workplace or at home.

I personally love podcasts! Interesting audio content soothes my heart, keeps me company, and feeds my constant curiosity… and I know I’m not alone.

The number of available podcasts is growing each year, and the number of podcast listeners has grown exponentially throughout the last year.

Since I mostly work from home, I like to listen to podcasts while taking a break from work to walk around my neighborhood - or sometimes in the car, on road trips. When I listen to really good episodes (or read interesting books and articles), the ever-curious student in me wants to share what I’m learning with you!

My hope in sharing these 3 podcast episodes is that they serve to expand our conversations about identity and power (in the workplace and beyond).

When it comes to justice & equity training, the hybrid (recorded & live) approach wins hands down. As a seasoned facilitator, I still believe strongly in the benefits of live, synchronous learning.

One of the ways my own relationships have suffered in the past is that I moved forward in my work and personal plans quickly… without checking in with myself. I tend to want to just get it done or keep it moving. So learning to pause and check in with how I am feeling, to survey my options, and get a little advice before taking my next steps has been a critical lesson for me. This has been particularly important learning for me during this last trip around the sun.

You know it’s important, but it can be hard to find time (or choose the “right” time) to train your team on justice and equity. Plus, there are so many choices out there, it’s almost impossible to know what will work for your people and what won’t. You might feel like it is simply easier to put off this decision until later (much later).

Too many teams wander aimlessly toward justice. After working with dozens of organizations that have attempted to institutionalize JEDI leadership through committees, we have witnessed various degrees of success. We have seen some organizations create a team that fizzles out in months, and others have people seeing success within weeks. Let’s take a closer look at what it takes to create a successful JEDI team.

Justice does not only ask who is represented at our table but moves us to inquire about who is served at the table that has been set. Further, it asks: Are there any barriers that prevent certain people from being served? It requires that we name and examine historical and current systems of oppression. It helps us expand the conversation beyond diversity and embrace the complexity of addressing oppression in all its forms, not just marginalization.

In recent years, I’ve started thinking about Memorial Day differently.

Traditionally, it’s always been a time to acknowledge members of the military and civilians who have died in this nation’s declared wars. But lately, I’ve also been reflecting on those who have died in America’s undeclared wars — those who have lost their lives to state violence, systemic oppression, neglect, and hate stoked by lies.

War is all around us.

When studying and celebrating Black history, often there is a tendency to focus on learning about individual people. However, in most cases, when history is made, the critical work is done by groups, not one person. When we ignore the contributions of coalitions and organizations, we are unable to appreciate the need for collective action to address the issues we face in the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality.

Movement work is hard, but never done in isolation. While we work with others to move forward strategies and tactics, we also develop our political identities through conversations, debates, and, yes, relationships with those people.