Reflecting on Equity: What Does It Mean to Love ‘All’?

 

In a special supplement to Stanford Social Innovation Review, the policy research and advocacy organization PolicyLink issues a call to action for people interested in realizing "the unfulfilled promise of our democracy as one where all can thrive." A Revolution of the Soul shares PolicyLink’s ideas for advancing that vision—and invites all who share it to join a journey of reflection and exploration to develop "an individual and collective soul that can love all."

In 20024, SSIR helped PolicyLink convene leaders in business, philanthropy, nonprofits, academia, and other sectors to discuss ideas in A Revolution of the Soul in Oakland, California; Oxford, England; and Washington, DC. This special report, the first in a three-part series, explores themes from these conversations and points readers to resources for exploring them in their lives and work.

PolicyLink was founded in 1999 with the mission of fighting poverty and advancing racial equity, which it defines in its Equity Manifesto as "just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential." (The emphasis on "all" is in the document.) The organization has helped position equity as a central theme for people in nonprofits, philanthropy, government, and business working to advance social change. Its research and advocacy have helped encourage a growing number of institutions to begin changing longstanding policies, practices, and beliefs that exclude people from the "equality," "liberty," "justice," and other ideals promised by the American narrative.

Over its 25 years, the PolicyLink team has engaged in an ongoing process of self-reflection by asking a stark question: “Do we deserve to exist?” The answer lay in assessing progress toward its “North Star,” says A Revolution of the Soul—an America where all people “participate in a flourishing democracy, prosper in an equitable economy, and live in thriving communities,” with a focus on the 100 million people in the U.S. living in or near poverty.

That number includes about 1 in 3 Americans, with people in every major racial and ethnic group, according to the data-rich National Equity Atlas (an online resource produced by PolicyLink and the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute). The highest rates are among Native American (49%), Black (45%), and Latino (44%) people, while the lowest are among Asian American (24%) and White (23%) people. Based on 5-year pooled data from the 2020 American Community Survey, that translates to about 1 million Native American, 17 million Black, 26 million Latino, 4 million Asian American, and 44 million White people experiencing economic insecurity. (These figures are based on an annual income less than $52,400 for a family of four in 2020, based on the federal government’s poverty guidelines.)

The call to “love all” poses a challenge in the face of political and legal backlash against the equity movement’s achievements, like the first-ever presidential executive orders that “charged the federal government with advancing equity for all.” Propelled by the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in higher education, conservative activists are filing lawsuits and state legislatures are enacting laws against equity-oriented policies, programs, and practices in the public and private sectors.

The call also comes in an era of toxic political polarization, when studies show that more than a third of Americans say political violence against the government or political opponents may be acceptable. However, in this charged atmosphere public opinion research also finds a yearning for unity among an “exhausted majority” of people “eager for a departure from the ‘us versus them’ narratives that dominate politics in the current era,” according to the social research organization More In Common.

A Revolution of the Soul says we must “love or perish,” because “the challenges we face are not only technical but also adaptive and deeply relational.” That imperative comes from the teachings of Howard Thurman, a spiritual adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and many other leaders of the U.S. civil rights movement.

The civil rights movement centered love in its philosophy and strategy of nonviolence. King said the kind of love that animated the movement “does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people” and “makes no distinction between a friend and enemy; it is directed toward both…seeking to preserve and create community.”

Some leaders who gathered at the conversations organized by SSIR and PolicyLink said this call came as a “breath of fresh air” in contentious times. “I want to lean into the positive, because it just feels like always fighting, fighting, fighting,” a participant in Oakland said. “I’m tired. Not tired of loving, tired of fighting.”

A table of organizers at the SSIR/PolicyLink gathering in Oxford broke into laughter as they compared notes on ideas in A Revolution of the Soul. “We have to make this work fun, not heavy,” said one who spoke for the group. “The future we’re fighting for is joyful. Solidarity implicitly feels better than what we’ve got.”

While some spoke to “joy,” others pointed to “pain.” The word “all” holds a prominent and paradoxical place in the founding documents of the nation, with the Declaration of Independence saying “all men are created equal,” while the original Constitution institutionalized slavery and excluded Native Americans. Most states restricted rights to white, male, property owners or taxpayers. The equity movement works to open people’s eyes to ways that inequalities embedded at the founding of the nation continue to affect people today, in order to explore remedies that reduce the disparities among different groups.

“The task before us is to resolve the perpetual tension between the ideal of the ‘all’ and the realities of othering, division, and stratification that plague the nation,” says A Revolution of the Soul.

To a speaker at the Oakland meeting, the ubiquitous word has always meant “all except me.” That feeling was echoed in Oxford by some who had a “visceral” reaction to the word: “Many of us from marginalized communities, we know that when people say ‘all’ we’re going to get erased. We’re going to be forgotten.” Another speaker in Oakland said that feeling can cut both ways, because words like diversity, equity, and inclusion that frame the work of many social justice organizations “is seen as excluding some people.”

PolicyLink’s analysis, as described in A Revolution of the Soul, found that “exclusion, alienation, and exploitation” have inflicted “deep personal and community wounds across race, gender, class, or geography. We saw plainly the depth of pain in which so many people are living.”

Reflecting this insight, participants spoke to the need for healing of personal and collective trauma experienced by people across U.S. society, where trauma exposure is “common,” according to medical research. Addressing fear and pain—within individuals, among social groups, and between different groups—is part of learning to love all, some said. “All of us hurt,” one person offered. “It's sometimes harder to see the pain and suffering of people who are powerful and have resources,” said another. Asked another: “What does it mean to heal in service of all?”

Leaders in SSIR and PolicyLink’s conversations spoke to a need for healing, nurturing, compassion, empathy, and ultimately recognizing “the dignity and the humanity of whoever's in front of us,” as one participant summed it up. Some spoke to the challenges of realizing these ideals in their personal and professional lives, reflecting the need for “soul work” encouraged in A Revolution of the Soul.

The term echoes the deep spiritual roots of the civil rights movement and other sources of theological and philosophical inspiration for PolicyLink. It also speaks to a contemporary yearning in American culture, according to recent studies of spirituality in the United States by The Fetzer Institute, which produces research and programs to help “build the spiritual foundation for a loving world.” Fetzer found that 6 in 10 Americans aspire to be more spiritual. Its surveys also confirmed what faith-led movements have long known: Spirituality is a driver of action. The more someone identifies as spiritual, the more likely they are to believe it’s important to “make a difference” in their communities and “contribute to greater good” in the world.

Dan Cardinali, who chairs the The Fetzer Institute’s board of directors, is helping PolicyLink create and curate resources to assist people interested in soul work. He sees promise in practices that foster self-awareness, compassion, and wellness, as well as the exploration of “existential” questions about our connections to humanity, nature, or a higher power: “Is it just me moving in the world, or am I connected to something larger—and what does that connection mean?”

PolicyLink’s team is doing its own soul work to explore questions like these, while continuing to conduct research, develop legislation and policy proposals, design private- sector strategies, and promote other approaches to address inequities throughout society. The self-transformation encouraged in A Revolution of the Soul helps lay the groundwork for the societal transformation they envision.

“These are the seeds of the world we want to create—but we do not have the soil to plant them in,” says A Revolution of the Soul, because political, social, and economic systems “fail to acknowledge our inherent human dignity”; our politics drive “fear, anxiety, and division”; and our systems of policymaking and government are “cut off from the human spirit.”

That’s why “the next American revolution must be a revolution of our collective and individual souls that allows us to grow into the fullness of our personhood and recognize the interconnectedness of all humanity.”

Want to Explore ‘Soul Work’?

Below are a few examples of resources that connect scientific research and spiritual inquiry with practical applications to personal growth and social change. If you’d like to be notified of resources forthcoming from PolicyLink, you can sign up for emails on their website.

The Fetzer Institute offers a range of tools and practices, including Resources for Tumultuous Times and Resources for Practicing and Healing Democracy.

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, “studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society”— including empathy and compassion.

On Being has many podcasts from two decades of the Peabody award-winning radio show on spirituality and society, such as Civil Conversations and Social Healing.

Without Love, We Perish, an article published by the John Templeton Foundation, provides an in-depth look at the science of love, including “love as a force for collective change.”

Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul is a book with insights and ideas for “how to change the world in quiet ways.”

Read more stories by Doug Hattaway.