In this special blog series, Understanding Leadership for Racial Justice, the Staley School of Leadership Studies invites conversation and action on understanding leadership for racial justice. What leadership is required for progress on racial justice? What practices and orientations to the work of leadership advance this effort and what hampers progress?
In this final piece, K-State’s Lorenza Lockett, BSW, MSW, Ph.D., assistant professor of social work, shares his four A’s for antiracism.
In this series we have sought to answer the question, What leadership is required for progress on racial justice? Through exploring the intersection of racial justice and leadership, we have highlighted the theory-to-practice work of scholars, activists, and community members. As members of a predominately-White institution, we believe the next step in this work is thinking about how we are needed to show up, individually and collectively, as allies for racial justice.
There are a number of professionals across our campus engaging in this work and leading others to become anti-racist allies. One of these professionals is Dr. Lorenza Lockett, assistant professor of social work, who created Four A’s on Anti-Racism as a guide for the white community to practice allyship for racial justice. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Lockett for his contributions to racial justice on our campus and beyond.
The setting
These four-A’s were tailored with the White community in mind in relationship to recent and historical disparities experienced by Blacks (aka, African Americans) in America. I have been approached both formally (In Focus, KSNT, NPR), and informally by friends, neighbors, and church members from the White community I share life with.
Eventually the conversation moved to the question, “How should White people address the issues of race and racism in such a volatile and sensitive climate in light of the brutal killings of Mr. George Floyd and similar national headline events?” In every case, they were well-meaning White people who were distraught, outraged, and hurting for and with Black America, yet felt inadequate, unqualified, or afraid of say the wrong thing; subsequently running the risking of further damage.
As an African American male, I cannot speak for all Black people but I can speak through the authentic voice of a Black man and his experience in light of the question above. My advice to White American is simply this: To begin with, listen to what we are saying to you instead of deciding on what you think we need to hear from you. From that frame of reference, consider the following four-A’s on Anti-Racism:
The suggestions
Awareness: Silent mindfulness that a phenomenon exists.
Take the time to notice what is happening around you without explaining it away to some other cause. We often will find what we are looking for, yet cannot see what we choose to remain blind to. Open your eyes; the world around you is full of multiple, blatant, manifestations of racial disparities toward Black Americans.
Acknowledgment: Public declaration (to the targeted population) of your awareness.
Say what you see. Take personal responsibility and courage to voice your disdain of such to first the African American community (as the opportunity presents itself) and to the general populace; especially to your own kind, White America. This step takes a lot of courage and you may incur some social/emotional cost from family, friends, and neighbors; perhaps even from some Blacks who are not in the mood to appreciate you. Say it.
Analysis: Now go deeper.
Read the inclusive history that goes beyond your learned and lived limited experiences. We live in bubbles; reach beyond your bubble and embrace the reality that exist on the other side; our Black world.Look at the data; the distortional statistical disparities in health, education, employment, life expectancy, etc. It is there. Embrace what you see. Allow yourself to rethink and learn anew both the historical and present-day ramifications of the unfavorable sustaining world that we (Blacks) live in.
Action: Make it personal. The rest is up to you.
Commit to actions to alleviate or eradicate the impact of racism upon the population on which it is imposed – in this case, African Americans. There are a host of mediums and actions you do this through: personal and public advocacy; support groups, policy making, political affiliations, grass root movements; public forums, deliberative dialogues; social media; formal education, etc.
Whatever you do, do it for the greater, inclusive good. Do it because people matter; so in this case let Black People Matter. Try it; I think WE will like it!
As we work toward racial justice on our campus, in our communities, and beyond, we hope this blog series has provided leadership theory we can draw upon and practices we can engage in individually and collectively to make progress. Now more than ever, we need collective action to challenge systemic inequities that act as barriers to racial justice. May we all meet this challenge with urgency and invest time and energy into becoming anti-racist allies who engage in leadership for racial justice.
