Happy May! It has been rainy and cool in Toronto, but it is said that April showers bring May flowers so I am hopeful that May will be warmer and filled with beautiful flowers.

I am writing the content for our new e-course “Creating anti-Racist Workplaces” and enjoying writing the curriculum. I begin the course by exploring the roots of racism, which is White supremacy. White supremacy is the idea and belief that White people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of White people are superior to Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour and our ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. White supremacy lies at the root of all forms of racism and it is expressed interpersonally as well as structurally through our governments, education, legal, child welfare, food, and other systems and institutions. For example, Canada’s history of colonization is a result of systemic racism that created a belief system that Indigenous peoples on Turtle Island were not human and should therefore be colonized and under the rule of European settlers who would civilize Indigenous nations. It was systemized through residential schools, the Indian Act, and the reservation system with outcomes that persist today. White supremacy also justified the enslavement of African peoples who were stolen from Africa, brought to the Americas, and forced to work on cotton and sugar plantations. In both systems of oppression, Indigenous and African peoples could not speak our native languages, or practice our cultures and spirituality. These systems of oppression acted to eradicate our humanity. These systems of oppression continue to be reproduced and reinforced in various institutions and practices. 

White supremacist beliefs and practices are not only found in our institutions and practices but also in our workplaces. If your senior management and executive team is mainly White cisgender and able-bodied men, if your entry-level, contract, and part-time staff are mainly folks from equity-deserving groups if staff are constantly burnout and taking medical leaves of absence, and if employees report high levels of dissatisfaction, etc. then White supremacy is operating at your workplace. This may be difficult to acknowledge, but that’s okay because this awareness is an important first step to creating anti-racist workplaces. 

Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun in their article Dismantling White Supremacy Culture written in 2001 outline 14 ways White supremacist beliefs are practiced by organizations. These are:

1. Perfectionism 8. The right to comfort

2. Worship of the written word 9. Fear of conflict

3. Only one right way 10. Individualism

4. Binary or either or thinking 11. Progress - bigger, more

5. Power hoarding 12. Objectivity 

6. Paternalism 13. Quantity over quality

7. Defensiveness 14. Sense of urgency

Throughout the month of May, I will explore 2 or 3 of these ways and what/how organizations can address them. Today, I will examine how perfectionism, worship of the written word, and only one right way are embedded in organizational cultures and how workplaces can challenge these.

Perfectionism occurs when employees are not appreciated for their efforts and when appreciation is shown, it is reserved for White majority staff. I recall working for an organization and the manager went to great lengths to highlight the work of staff during weekly team meetings. This was a very small team of five persons, but after three months, I realized I was the only one who noticed I was not acknowledged for my efforts. I was the only Black person on the team. The attempt to erase my work and humanity was captured in the written minutes, so it was not my imagination. Not cool.

To counter the harmful impacts that the myth of perfectionism creates, Jones and Okun recommend that organizations develop cultures of appreciation, become learning workplaces where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn and grow and educate managers and supervisors on how to offer praise and constructive feedback to all employees, and how to remove their biases. Employers can also help teams know that aiming for “good enough” is sometimes okay because it provides an opportunity to improve and learn from taking action rather than waiting for and stressing over perfection.

A second way White supremacy operates in workplaces is through the worship of the written word. This is evident when workplaces value people with strong writing skills and other ways of sharing information are not as highly valued even when other means of communicating and learning are needed by others. Organizations believe there is only one way to share information. In colonization, people and cultures that are oral are regarded as inferior to people who document information in writing.

Jones and Okun recommend that organizations spend time understanding the various ways people learn and how they want to receive and share information. They also recommend that organizations value skills including building positive relationships and using inclusive language, not using jargon and academic language that may not be understood by others.

Another way organizations display White supremacist beliefs is by believing that there is only one right way of doing, being, and thinking. Jones and Okun explain that White supremacy believes that when persons are taught the right way, then they will naturally want to do, be and think in this way. When persons do not, something is wrong with them and not with the persons holding this belief. Colonizers show that their ways, beliefs, thoughts, institutions, cultures, and religions are the standard that others must adopt. Persons and nations that resist this belief are deemed problematic and backward.

Jones and Okun state that organizations can resist this belief system by opening up to the many ways of thinking, living, and being. Workplaces can encourage teams and groups to ideate, discuss, test, and make decisions that are outside of the “norm.” Support persons to try new approaches with the understanding that teams and organizations will learn, adapt, and grow.

Understanding how these harmful beliefs are perpetuated by workplace cultures is necessary to create anti-racist and equitable organizations that treat staff, managers, volunteers, and clients with respect and dignity. Interrupting White supremacy in organizations will lead to workplaces that are healthy, safe, and just.

Are any of these beliefs practiced at your workplace? If yes, how? If not, how does your employer resist these beliefs and practices? How is your workplace dismantling these beliefs? Please let me know.

Thanks for reading my blog today!

Michelle

CEO

michelle@mvdconsulting.ca