“The same hammer won’t tear down all walls.”
-Ijeoma Oluo
How does the quote above resonate with you?
Pause here for a moment and free yourself from distractions:
Take a deep breath in... exhale slowly... deep breath in... exhale slowly... deep breath in... exhale slowly... calm your mind and be present...
Why is examining ones privilege so difficult?
...sit with this question for as long as it takes you to come up with an honest answer...
privilege | noun an advantage, or set of advantages that you have that others do not.
It's so easy to immediately become defensive when someone asks you to "check your privilege". It's an honest human response. Examining one's privilege is difficult, but necessary. Especially, when you realize areas in your life where you benefited at the expense of others.
Consider this. Personally checking your privilege is giving you an opportunity to do better. An opportunity to create change.
If you are serious about making changes to a system that was designed to oppress people of color, you can’t do it without first checking yourself and examining the areas where your experience opens the door of opportunity.
The hammer, is a symbol of justice. Our justice system was not designed to serve ALL people. That mindset has to change.
Checking your privilege and understanding the areas where you have the advantage, gives you the power to leverage that privilege and make real measurable change:
Ijeoma Oluo, in the book, So You Want to Talk About Race, gives these examples where your can privilege create opportunity for change:
1. Privilege: Are you more likely to sit in a manager’s meeting while others are not? Opportunity: Ask why there is no disabled person in the room.
2. Privilege: Are politicians begging for your political support?
Opportunity: Ask what they are going to do for people of color next time they knock on your door to hand you a flier.
3. Privilege: Were you able to get a fancy private education as a child?
Opportunity: Use your resulting financial security to support levies to improve public schools.
4. Privilege: Don’t have to juggle work and children?
Opportunity: Use the promotion that added flexibility and helped you to get employer-funded childcare and family leave programs.
5. Privilege: Have the schedule flexibility to attend a PTA meeting?
Opportunity: At the next meeting, ask them to move future meeting times to hours that more working parents can attend and give parents other ways to contribute if they can’t be there.
These are just a few. There are endless possibilities where you can leverage your privilege and make real, measurable change.
What has examining your privilege uncovered?
...what area(s) gave you an advantage...
Who doesn’t have this same privilege or opportunity that you have enjoyed?
...what group was absent...left out...
How will you initiate much need change?
...What are you willing to do... Speak up!
Don’t miss your opportunity. Be intentional, encourage others to do the same and watch what happens.
You got this!
Coach Tavia
#learnandgrow, #shareyourgifts, #maketheshift, #mindset, #focus, #justdoit, #speakup, #leadbyexample, #changeiscoming, #responsibility, #privilege, #lifecoach, #leadershipcoach, #leadershipdevelopment, #opportunity, #intention, #letsgo
*This weeks blog postings have been inspired by New York Times Bestseller: So You Want To Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
Kommentare