On the Razor's Edge Part Two: The Paradox of Racialized Leadership
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People celebrate when IBR leaders are appointed into positions of responsibility and leadership – and so they should. They are important milestones.
However, at times, there may also be mistrust from communities with some of these leaders, as often we have learned that to get to those positions we have to “sell out” and conform to the dominant structures and narratives.
For those leaders who ascend with a track record of being anchored and grounded within the community, those who hire them may applaud the individual for a moment and savor in the delight of showing how open-minded they are. In the organizations that hire these individuals, gain “points” because they dared to hire these types of individuals. There is a great deal of hope and belief that the individual will make all the changes needed to make the organization better. At least, this is the articulation of the organization matched by the hopes of the individual/s who have been hired.
Many times, the communities they come from will also celebrate and look to those individuals with the long-awaited hope for change.
At the same time, some communities that have been marginalized become weary or cautious because they often wonder (based on history), what’s the compromise that has been made? Will these person/s “sell us out” too.
The organization somehow believes that the appointment itself will lead to trust ignoring the fact that for too long we have seen one of two outcomes – leaders who may sell out their communities OR those who are sacrificed for daring to think they could create change. Lately we have seen much of the latter playing out on the North American landscape.
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There is a great deal of pressure and heightened expectations on single individuals instead of an approach that sees the individual. The expectation is they will make all the changes needed and meet everyones’ expectations – it is an impossible situation to be in.
As IBR leaders ascend, the weight of white supremacy becomes harder because every structure is intended to lead to conformity. Their very presence in their bodies and with their various identities is a threat because considerations raised for change often are contrary to the way the structures and organizations think and function. Every structure begins to work for them to conform to the way the organization does business. This is literally experienced by IBR leaders as an internal battle within their bodies as they try to deal with all of it.
They are constantly navigating what organizations can/will/can’t/won’t do, larger politics often invisible from the eyes of onlookers and their inability to speak about it, their own hopes for change and desire to make things better, the overwhelming expectations of making change and keeping everyone happy.
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In addition to this, where these leaders are tasked or have taken on a mandate for human rights/equity/truth and reconciliation focused change they also must deal with the current political climate, the perception that this is their agenda, a double-standard held up for IBR folks where they are constantly required to prove their qualifications, validate their presence and qualifications, over-perform because of shifting goal-posts and suddenly “higher standards” of organizations, and be judged fiercely for any mistakes.
Notwithstanding that all skin folk ain’t folk. They will also have to face some folks who identify within equity-deserving communities desiring change but seeking to uphold old structures.
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As some marginalized communities engage in advocacy, they may resort to treating those IBR leaders as if they themselves are the system.
All of this places leaders who do care about systemic change in an impossible situation – The system expects them to make change and build relationships with marginalized communities, some to which they belong. They put pressure on those leaders to make things “smooth” and any semblance of challenge cast as the leader’s inability to do their jobs.
Simultaneously, communities, because of experiences and history, are unsure if they should trust the individual and so continue to be mistrusting and treat the individual leader as if they are the system.
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Where there is no strategy employed between communities that desire change and the individuals in roles who also want to create change creates the politics of fractured dynamics especially when/where/because egos are involved.
Ideally, organizations should encourage strategies that allows this to happen because it enhances public institutions ability to serve all people in a better way. They need to recognize and explicitly articulate these dynamics are at play and consider how to support leaders to navigate through it and ensure their well-being is intact.
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It is important to have leaders who reflect us, but it is not enough. Single individuals in institutions cannot create change on their own. We have to begin to build relationships and deepen understandings so the difference we desire for our communities and a better society can occur.
Especially for IBR folks, we must begin to strategically think about how we work together for change and explicitly understand all the dynamics that are at play. Where communities believe individuals in those roles are acting in integrity, it is important for them to consider how to support them to be successful in their role while still holding organizations accountable.
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What often happens though, is that the community remains isolated and any hope of change by leaders who may be positioned to do it is either lost or happens at the cost of those individuals especially where organizations do not actually resource leaders to make the changes they claim to be in support of.
All of the above, from all of the actors I mentioned, ironically creates a dynamic that allows no real, sustainable, systemic change to occur regardless of any articulations in support of Equity, Truth and Reconciliation or Human Rights.
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We also must recognize and commit to working differently and healing our own trauma from racism. If we don’t we inevitably create the conditions that keep colonial structures and white supremacy alive. That is the truth.
Until we do so, we will be unable to do better and what this means is that hopes for change will not be realized.
1 Comment
Dhara Bhatt
Beautiful blog! Many points resonated perfectly with my own journey!! Wonder how we can support one another to make it better for us?
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