How to Not:
A Counter-Strategy for Racial Equity in Meritocracies Without Merit
A Counter-Strategy for Racial Equity in Meritocracies Without Merit
A certain tediousness and inflexible order exists in the realm of DEI. In learning the skills and spending the hours necessary to fill their roles, many DEI professionals find themselves compromising to a point of unrecognizability, asking themselves, "Is this what I really signed up for?”
When the instruments and contexts of DEI maintain their demands, especially the ones without merit, how do you Not?
Most theories, models and settings of “change” are often saturated in ideologies of whiteness, which have little capacity for racial equity. We propose a model and method of infusing these sites with the soul and spirit of liberation to produce more equitable outcomes for our constituents and greater peace for ourselves. This five-plus-one-part interactive, tribe-building series will be a validating, affirming and hopefully freeing space for those wrestling with the frustrat(ed)(ing), standard models of DEI work.
We're offering the ammunition to Not.
When the instruments and contexts of DEI maintain their demands, especially the ones without merit, how do you Not?
Most theories, models and settings of “change” are often saturated in ideologies of whiteness, which have little capacity for racial equity. We propose a model and method of infusing these sites with the soul and spirit of liberation to produce more equitable outcomes for our constituents and greater peace for ourselves. This five-plus-one-part interactive, tribe-building series will be a validating, affirming and hopefully freeing space for those wrestling with the frustrat(ed)(ing), standard models of DEI work.
We're offering the ammunition to Not.
How to Not Podcast
After we piloted How to Not at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), we were invited to share our work on Student Affairs Now, an online learning community of higher ed professionals. Click below to hear our conversation and get an overview about the style and substance of our work, and take a minute to dig through their archives, too.
A Five-PLUS-ONE-Part Series
Consider. Most courses offer concepts in discrete units. This week we'll talk about gender in DEI, next week we'll talk about the history of race... as if the two were unrelated. Our approach takes a family of topics, explores them in relation to one another, and then takes the concepts and conversations deeper in subsequent turns. It's not a circle model. It's a corkscrew approach.
In this series, we'll explore:
- Professional Community
- Well-Being
- Differentiation
- Discovery
- Living Your Purpose
- Starting from Your Corner
- Transforming Models to Transform Work
In this series, we'll explore:
- Professional Community
- Well-Being
- Differentiation
- Discovery
- Living Your Purpose
- Starting from Your Corner
- Transforming Models to Transform Work
PART ONE
“Hot to Not” is about releasing ineffective models and forging new ones, so those engaged in DEI work can transform their relationships to the work… so that they can transform the work. In the same way a chef experiments with ingredients, attendees will get to create their own" sauce" while building a connection with others who also want to learn "How to Not." In this kitchen, we’ll blend Bobbie Harro's “Cycles of Socialization and Liberation” along with Tricia Hersey's Rest is Resistance, and Saundra Dalton-Smith MD’s “Seven Types of Rest.” Mix with a touch of Dungeon Family and add to an Audre Lourde slow cooker. That means we’re talking about professional maturity, rejuvenation, creativity and freedom through the community.
PART TWO
Funny how DEI experts teach the differences between equity and equality... and then practice equality in their professional development. Assuming the same needs for your audience and ignoring your own as a facilitator is part of the script that maintains status quo. How bout we Not?
PART THREE
Still discovering. Still differentiating. Still modeling the concepts that we're uplifting. This time, we're looking at how these concepts contribute to our practice(s) of self-care. Taking the principles of PARTS ONE & TWO, we'll upgrade this essential work and put some Not on the methods that you've been served before.
PART FOUR
The more we accomplish in DEI, the more we get pressed with that kit Audre Lorde talked about. Resistance is a tool. So are defamation, assault, seduction, and distraction. You might explore how to go toe to toe with these forces. Or you could Not.
PART FIVE
Moving to a powerful practicum. We'll apply the concepts we've strengthened along the way and get intimate with a way of being that serves our purpose over our work. Yeah, that sounds woo-woo right now, but with the practice from the previous four parts, you'll see clearly how we've arrived at a place where we can articulate a better way to DEI. Part Five moves from ability to evidence.
PLUS ONE
It's one thing to plan something. It's another to inspect the impact(s) of doing something, surrender something, heal something and grow something. For all the participants who participated in all five parts, we're inviting you back to talk about and learn from what you did when you did it. Bring your receipts. Inspire and be inspired.
Facilitators
Veteran teachers. Master facilitators. Life-long equity champions.
Incredible friends. You'll be in good company.
Incredible friends. You'll be in good company.
Krischanna Roberson
Krischanna is an award-winning racial strategist and leader of Collabovate Consulting where she collaborates to elevate large and small organizations who desire an inclusion first approach for systemic racial and cultural transformation. She is a highly skilled facilitator and educator on the social construction of race, culture, and education. Krischanna has a BA in business management and a master's degree in education with a focus on diversity and equity. A proud native New Yorker (Brooklynite) who loves a great pizza debate, especially from those Chicago folks.
Marcus Moore
An immigrant, activist anthropologist, Marcus Moore is German-born and Georgia-raised. A Black, story-telling teacher, his energies feed a clearly stated purpose – to know freedom and to teach freedom. In his first career, taught college, high-school and middle school classes. Now he uses the techniques that made concepts digestable and kept tweenage attention to coach individuals and organizations to accelerate the movement toward racial equity. He’s a highly-skilled facilitator and master teacher. Creative to the core, he finds new ways to share established ideas and add to those catalogs. He’s also a demanding spades partner.