On Talking About Race

Last week I stumbled through exploring how oppression, particularly racialized oppression, shows up in our private practices internally, interpersonally, and structurally.

I honestly don't know the best way to talk about these complex issues. I just know that talking about them is necessary if I genuinely want to help build truly anti-oppressive businesses, and support you in doing the same.

Ijeoma Oluo's book So You Want to Talk About Race talks about, well, race, and in particular the first few chapters talk about internalized oppression. If you, like me, are a white business owner, here are the questions I think she's asking us to sit with (and I think it's fair to say that "in my business" could be added to each of these questions):

• How much do I focus on oppression that doesn't affect me?

• How comfortable am I with Black, Indigenous and People of Color facing systemic disadvantages?

• How often do I intentionally think about the role of race?

• Do I consider how my racial identity affects situations and people?

• Do I always believe a person of color when they tell me their experience with race?

These are hard questions to sit with. I'm not comfortable with them, and I don't have clear answers. But here they are, and hopefully you find them as helpful as I do for having a deeper exploration of racial oppression.

I look forward to continuing this conversation with you soon! Any and all feedback and ideas are welcome.