As the COVID-19 pandemic limits our ability to physically reach for connection, JustLead and the Washington Race Equity & Justice Initiative (REJI) are creating more virtual spaces for learning and gathering to support our equity and justice community’s efforts. In our blog, JustLead staff and partners offer out equity and leadership-focused reflections, insights, and lessons … Continue reading Welcome to JustLead’s Blog
JustLead Blog
By Jennifer Werdell, Executive Director, JustLead Washington A few weeks ago JustLead posted about how the characteristics articulated in Tema Okun’s White Supremacy Culture article can surface in times of crisis. While we always intended to put forth a Part II that talks about more habits of white supremacy, our team, like so many across … Continue reading White Supremacy Culture Part II: Time to Break Our Deadly Habits
By KJ Williams, Leadership and Equity Consultant with JustLead Washington, Owner and Founder of R.I.S.E., LLC (Radical, Insightful Solutions to Create Equity), & 2015 Leadership Academy Fellow. This blog post is personal, painful and challenging. The content underscores truths that I, as a black woman find imperative to speak. Not all will agree, and yet … Continue reading Centering Black & Indigenous Communities, Part II: Anchoring Ourselves in a New Truth
The onset of COVID-19 has reaffirmed the need for our government, communities, and institutions to center those among us who are most vulnerable and marginalized. This means strategically identifying resources and support systems relevant to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in our response, recovery, and the rebuilding of an equitable society. In a … Continue reading Centering Black & Indigenous Communities, During & After COVID-19: Part I
A key resource we rely on in our anti-racism work is Tema Okun’s White Supremacy Culture, which describes how behaviors that are associated with white, European traditions and values come to be seen as the norm and the preferred. White supremacy culture is already pervasive in our workplaces, but the characteristics described below can surface … Continue reading White Supremacy Organizational Culture in the Time of COVID-19
Redefining “Normal” Those who work to advance equity and justice have always borne witness to and sat squarely within efforts to dismantle oppressive systems. Tragically and ironically, we are often handed the most powerful leveraging tools when the so-called “normal” status quo is disrupted in a major way. Think Hurricane Katrina; the deaths of Trayvon … Continue reading Equity, Justice, & Making Meaning of COVID-19