Everything We Do is Equity Work
Doing equity work is challenging. And liberating. And healing. And non-negotiable if we want to transform the world. If we want to create conditions for our students to show up fully, to be wholly themselves and thrive with unblocked access to systemic barriers, we need to develop and hone our capacities daily. What I offer here are some considerations, habits, and wisdom about what has worked for me on this long and necessary journey of dismantling oppression and injustice.
It’s All Equity Work
When teaching, leading, designing professional learning, facilitating workshops, or coaching, I hold strongly to two core principles:
Everything we do is equity work. What we say, don’t say; whose values we promote, whose values we question; the curriculum we select; our modes of communication internally and externally, written and verbal; who gets hired and why; the design of our learning spaces; what “status quo” means, and who has access to success. We need to see everything in our contexts as linked to equity if we’re going to engage in the process of transformation.
The students are always watching. If someone works in the field of education, they have signed on to be an educator, whether working to support infrastructures and systems or teaching in classrooms. And the students are paying attention. Students are listening to what we say or when we’re silent; they notice who greets them (or doesn’t) as they walk in the building; who stands in front of them in the classroom, who maintains the building, and who looks like they do. They notice the books and media they’re taught from, who is represented in the curriculum, and who is getting sent to the principal’s office. They receive messages all the time, implicitly and explicitly, and take their cues from what we reinforce.
Principled Action
Because of these principles, I need to ensure I have the capacity to do this work with integrity, humility, and care. And I also need to know that I will mess up sometimes; I will be triggered sometimes; I will feel overwhelmed sometimes. These moments will come with big feelings and big thoughts—which is why I need to put a premium on sharpening my tools. The following are five practices I engage in so I can do this work more skillfully:
Look at my sh**. No matter how much I do the work around understanding difference and seeing the impact of systemic oppression, it’s important that I situate myself within the topics I’m learning and committed to. Especially because I’m white, I need to double down on noticing my words and actions, interrogating underlying beliefs, and behaving in a way that reduces harm, takes up less space, orients me toward action, and contributes to racial healing. Through meditation, written reflection, and conversations with my accountability partners (people in my life who will give me honest and loving feedback), I’m able to cultivate and maintain greater self awareness and strive to act with greater integrity. I’m able to process my experiences; reflect on my challenges; and ultimately, keep learning.
Make friends with my discomfort. Equity work doesn’t always come with immediate rewards, and I know not to expect high fives for my efforts. I also know this work invites a lot of tension—both healthy and unhealthy. When I need to confront moments that are nuanced and difficult, discomfort will surface for me. Discomfort is an indication that I’m learning and growing, and I trust its wisdom. If I accept discomfort as the norm and not the exception in this work, then I’m much more able to accept it when it shows up (which it always does).
Take care of impact—and learn from it. I can strive to be thoughtful and intentional, and I can commit myself to practices that promote healing and restoration. No matter my intentions, if I have caused harm, it’s most important for me to take care of the impact—and learn from it so I can do better the next time. Diversity consultant Rosetta Lee describes it in this way: If I run over someone’s foot with my car, I’m not going to share what I intended to do versus what happened; I’m going to address the impact of my actions. For me that means deepening my learning, accepting personal responsibility, and making visible commitments to change my behaviors and actions the next time around.
Practice self love. Any equity practitioner will tell you how exhausting the work is, and how the complex nature of it all can deplete a person of their energy. To stay engaged in this work, I need to practice self love. For me, self love means stepping back when I need a break (so I can be ready to step back in), cultivating strong self awareness, getting a full night’s sleep, exercising, eating healthily, meditating, and accepting myself as I am in every moment. It’s a tall but necessary order, because when things get hard—as they inevitably will—I need self love to be my soft landing, my source of energy and resilience.
I want to imagine a world that looks much different from the one we inhabit now. I want this world to be one where barriers have been dismantled, where new systems have been created that honor people’s totality and wholeness—where historically marginalized communities are thriving. I also know that to realize this kind of world, we need to be in community. Perhaps a tool in this list resonated for you; perhaps you have your own list of practices. My hope is you’ll share so that we can collectively work towards the kind of restoration and healing that reimagines the world we want to co-create for future generations.
