Why White Supremacy Culture not Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)?
I talk about white supremacy culture instead of DEI because it allows us to go deeper into the root causes of oppression.
We are socialized from birth to believe that there is one “best” way to be – white, male, straight, cisgender, English-speaking, middle-class and more. As a result, we think of our practices, policies and customs as the way things are done. Those practices, policies and customs are often legacies of white supremacy. And we don’t even know it.
To achieve equity, we have to unlearn much of what we know is true and remake our culture. We must intentionally disrupt our socialization.
CMJ Collaborations
I am the M in CMJ Collaborations, a white supremacy culture disruption consultancy. With Cat Shieh (the C) and Janedra Sykes (the J), I design programs for nonprofits and social justice organizations.
Our approach is based on the Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture in Organizations, as compiled by Tema Okun. Through workshops, webinars, coaching and custom materials, CMJ supports organizations along their journey to disrupting white supremacy culture internally and within their communities.
Are they easy conversations? No.
Can your team handle it? We think so. In fact, we think they will learn to enjoy it.
Learn More
Wanna know more? Register for one of our one-hour, free workshops in 2024. We also dive deeper into one characteristic at a time, during our quarterly LinkedIn Live presentations. Please join one of these sessions!
- LinkedIn Live: Worship of the Written Word – Jan. 9, 2024, 9am – 9:30am Pacific
We developed a tool to help organizations determine the right path and support for their disruption journey. How to DEI is a workbook with two sets of questions. The first helps an organization assess where they are in their journey and what kind of support they need. The second set of questions is designed to help determine the right consultant for that work.