A Heavy Ask

This was a heavy ask… to address a group of marketing and communications industry colleagues in the midst of extreme pain, fear and mourning. At first, I didn’t know what to say besides the obvious… be better humans. As the days went on, the clouds lifted and the message emerged, without poetics. Here are the highlights.

Written by Tiana Webb Evans, Founder & Managing Director ESP GROUP (Photo: Mauri Solages)

1. PAUSE & REFLECT. If you’re acknowledging the dire nature of the situation for the first time, please understand you’re about 400 years late. With that in mind, there is a lot to understand and unpack. Start with yourself: take an assessment of your positions, values, interactions with your black colleagues and acquaintances. Acknowledge the missteps and gain your bearings. We are all part of an oppressive culture, and acknowledging that is the first step to change. In this climate, introspection goes a long way.

2. DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. It is ridiculous to have to say this, but don’t make assumptions - they quickly become microagressions. A microagression, in case your are unfamiliar with the term, is the brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults toward any group, particularly culturally marginalized groups (source: Wikipedia). These small insults build and become wounds over time. Assumptions of class, education, or life experiences in the workplace can be quickly alienating and breed anger and resentment. Like all people, our experiences are vast and diverse. Your black colleague could have grown up in an affluent suburb or in a rural town, there is no way of knowing besides the natural process of getting to know someone. The assumption of another person’s life experience and the projection of sameness is prejudicial and reductive. Be respectfully curious.

3. BE INFORMED. Take the time to understand the moment. Gather information from reliable sources that are committed to journalistic integrity. We are a legion of storytellers with enough awareness of the spin to know where to go to find accurate, non-sensationalist information, including The New Yorker, Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Self-education is invaluable. Invest in understanding how America was built and the part race has played in the story. In order to sincerely understand the black experience in America, it is essential to understand the construction of whiteness and the important stories intentionally left out of your history textbooks.

4. TAKE ACTION. It is naive to believe that everyone reading this is on the same page. For those of you who are interested in justice and humanity, take action. Contributing financial support to activist groups, working with policy making entities, supporting black business, educating your friends and family, assessing and changing your company culture, or on the front lines - every action matters. Every single effort towards a more civilized society matters.

5. USE YOUR POWER. Last but not least, we’re the motor in the machine of culture and capitalism. Public Relations was designed to influence thought and desire. Use your power to drive change and create a new world - a world where we can all thrive.

Yes, we are in pain. Yes, we are angry. Yes, we are tired.

Black Lives Matter. I matter. My children matter. Your actions matter.

Humanity and justice are not propaganda or politics.

This moment is not a business opportunity, it is an opportunity for awakening.

Ideas:

26 Ways To Be In The Struggle Beyond the Streets

A Starter Book List:

Lies My Teacher Told Me Everything: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. James W. Loewen

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. Robin D’Angelo

So You Want to Talk about Race. Ijeoma Oluo

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor. Layla F Saad

The History of White People. Nell Irvin Painter