Overcoming Racial Equity Fatigue

(Photo by iStock/akinbostanci)

“We keep talking over and over again about how important it is to fight against racism,” a 40-something board member of a California-based family foundation told me a few weeks ago. “But nothing is really changing. I’m so frustrated!”

In August, Home Depot was accused by the National Labor Relations Board of punishing an employee for wearing a Black Lives Matter logo on his apron, a year after its CEO proudly proclaimed, “We must stand with all who are committed to change that will bring us closer to realizing an end to discrimination and hatred. […] We do not support discrimination in any form, period.”

The human resources director of a nation-wide bank recently shared: “I must confess I feel this is unfair: We’re making huge efforts, we’ve donated millions of dollars, we’ve recruited people from minorities, made public commitments, and we’re trying our best to implement them, but we keep being scrutinized and criticized. It’s like it’s never enough. It’s honestly tiring.”

These examples are all variations of a common challenge facing organizations today: racial equity fatigue.

This is the fatigue of those who feel that progress toward racial equity is frustratingly slow or even stalled, and of those who are disgusted by the political backlash against reform. This is the fatigue of those who feel that the charges of systemic racism being made are not always fair, who resist change, or for whom the changes are happening too fast. This is the fatigue of organizations that have been spending time and money for a year and a half with little visible improvement in team cohesion and effectiveness.

The Disappointment After the Promise

In many of these cases, racial equity fatigue stems from the distance between the high hopes for change felt in 2020 and the current situation. Indeed, after the killing of George Floyd, the 50 largest companies in the US alone pledged over $50 billion to racial justice efforts. A third of Fortune 1000 companies made public statements in support of racial equity, and so did thousands of other philanthropic organizations, NGOs, and institutions. Jobs were created to ensure organizations would be truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The BLM vocabulary and narrative became widely used by CEOs, board and staff members, and dominant in large parts of the media and the general public. The future was finally about to be racially equal.

One year later, however, we are far from these promises. How did(n’t) we get there? The answers are numerous.

Countless webinars have been organized, but specific, difficult conversations within teams are too often avoided. Fear is prevalent and paralyzing: White people fear making mistakes and being seen as part of an oppressive system, while BIPOC people fear having to carry the burden of change while risking backlash, and organizations fear being destroyed by the heat of these conversations. DEI positions have been created; but the people recruited, who generally have a lived experience of racism, do not always have strong expertise in anti-racism or in managing change in organizational cultures and policies. Often, they lack the institutional support required to act. Very few of the institutions that wrote passionate statements supporting anti-racism get interested in the deep concerns of those in power who resist change—not because they are fierce white supremacists, but because they fear they would suffer painful losses. Many organizations have sought to change the present without exploring their past. As a result, they cannot identify nor address the racial weight in their wealth, business model, and culture.

Of course, racism is widespread, and a lot of people and organizations do not want at all to change. Nevertheless, the work I have conducted with organizations from various sectors over the past two years has convinced me that numerous leaders have a genuine willingness to act beyond statements. They do not look for “Blackwashing,” they look to do better on anti-racism.

However, they lack the tools and methodologies to do so. That may not be surprising as it was only in May 2020 that many in the US and around the world started to reckon with the depth, noxiousness, and violence of racism. Frameworks to help organizations become boldly anti-racist cannot be found in well-established toolboxes developed by widely recognized experts and practitioners. There is no quick fix, nor magical product with short-term, quantifiable results to convince a reluctant board or investor.

How to Overcome Racial Equity Fatigue and Make Progress

Here are some recommendations. They are inspired by several sources: my personal experience as a child of Moroccan immigrants to France, an immigrant to the US myself, and over 20 years of anti-racism work across sectors; the successful experiences of resilient post-conflict communities around the world, from Rwanda to the Middle East, from genocide survivors to refugees; and an innovative six-month, 50-interview research study conducted by my organization, Toward Antiracism Now, on anti-racism challenges and best practices for foundations.

If you experience racial equity fatigue because you feel progress is frustratingly slow: First, decenter yourself. Remember that you are taking part in a centuries-old struggle that has involved countless individuals, from Native Americans resisting extermination to enslaved Africans revolting for freedom, hundreds of thousands of people who marched in the civil rights movement, and today’s social justice activists. The efforts to dismantle racism have started well before you, and will continue well after you.

Second, since long-term, sustained efforts are required, expand and reinforce your support system. Reach out not only to individuals from your organization, but also to its partners, clients, communities, donors, investors, and subcontractors. Join networks that are dedicated to racial equity, including from outside your industry. Younger generations are the most sensitive to racial equity: A Deloitte 2021 report shows that 56 percent of millennials see systemic racism as very or fairly widespread in general society. At the same time, they are deeply dissatisfied with institutions’ efforts to address it. Joining or supporting youth networks within your sector will have long-term impacts, both for you and for your organization.

Third, focus on the deep concerns of those in power who resist. They may be the “bad guys” in the story, but no change will ever happen if they keep blocking it. It can be difficult, triggering, and frustrating to speak with them, but you have no choice. People do not resist change, they resist loss. Understanding the losses they fear if the status quo is disrupted will help you find ways to understand and address their deep concerns, and make change happen.

Fourth, look who is missing in your coalition for change. Acknowledge that, sometimes, an old, white, heterosexual man is the best person to conduct racial equity work. “It took a white heterosexual guy to do this work. […] And I know I could do it because I am one of them,” the president and CEO of a Southern foundation told me recently. The people leading this work have to understand and be listened to by all stakeholders, especially those holding the strongest decision-making power. Each organization is at a unique place in its racial equity journey, and denying where that place is because it is not “good enough” from an activist point of view only harms efforts. The ones picked to lead racial equity work have to be carefully chosen with these considerations in mind.

If you experience racial equity fatigue because you feel that the anti-racism change underway is not always fair, or happening too fast: you may be right. I have also witnessed instances of injustice in the name of racial justice: people silenced because of misinterpreted words or bad intentions assumed, anti-racism language used not to dismantle domination but to impose domination over others, or communities being kept in blind spots. However, you also should decenter yourself, and acknowledge that these instances do not mean the sum of the current reckoning over racism is not a long overdue improvement toward justice.

You should realize that if you do not work to advance racial equity in ways that are satisfactory to you, you may experience even worse fatigue in the future. Indeed, a long-term generational shift is underway. The Brookings Institute estimates that by 2025, millennials will make up as much as 75 percent of the workforce. Meanwhile, 90 percent of them say they are more likely to buy from companies that support solutions to social issues. The status quo is not an option. By not implementing anti-racism change, you are endangering the capacity of your organization to attract and retain talent and capital.

If your organization experiences racial equity fatigue because of little improvement despite spending resources: Ask yourself, “little improvement” compared to what? No short-term results will ever satisfy the most passionate activists, so build metrics that are specific to your organization and industry. The experiences of public institutions, NGOs, foundations, and companies in developing metrics relating to social change may be sources of inspiration.

“Study the past if you would define the future,” Confucius advises. In Stranger in the Village, James Baldwin writes: “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”

If you want to get rid of the racist loads that have been passed on to you by previous generations, you can’t avoid looking your past in the eye.

“We know that our founder, and how he made money, was quite controversial, but we concentrate on how we create something new, something better [for the future],” the executive director of a West-based family foundation told me… before admitting they were stuck and struggling to do better on anti-racism.

You may need to adopt a truth and reconciliation approach to study the past of your organization, sector, and country. Recruiting individuals from various teams to do this work will reinforce, not weaken, the bonds between them and establish strong coalitions for change. The famous South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission was successful because it included and listened to all stakeholders in society. This joint exploration of the past was key for the country to assess where it stood after the end of the apartheid regime. It resulted in renewed, strengthened social cohesion and allowed the country to move forward.

Finally, develop initiatives that make your organization structurally listen and give more space to the communities you aim to promote, for example by integrating individuals from these groups not only in your staff but also in your recruiting panels and in the teams that develop your strategies, and by establishing leadership fellowships and empowerment programs.

Racial equity fatigue may mark the beginning of the end of anti-racism efforts for some. However, if it is recognized for what it is, it can be overcome. By implementing these recommendations, you can renew your organization’s commitment to—and take the next step toward—delivering on the promises of change that were made a year ago.

Read more stories by Benjamin Abtan.