Even With Backlash, Transformative Racial Justice Work Is Still Possible

Screenshot from The New York Times Article

You may have seen a New York Times article that came out yesterday about DEI at the University of Michigan, with the heading “What Went Wrong?”

As backlash against DEI intensifies, narratives about DEI as a failed undertaking are also gaining momentum. Many of those narratives, especially those offered by the far right, are made in bad faith to manipulate racial discomfort for political gain. Some narratives begin with an end in mind of characterizing DEI as misguided. I would argue that this has been The Times’ narrative arc on DEI for years.

The Times article does illustrate some valid critiques of DEI. At least some students of color saw the university’s DEI efforts as performative and not explicit enough about anti-Blackness. Some of these efforts can be bureaucratized to the point that they lose meaning and even reify white supremacy culture. All too often, meaningful work can be undermined by people in power who don’t support it, and even by people who think they’re on board and don’t realize what they’re doing. And let’s be clear – DEI is not racial justice, but rather a way to frame the work that is more palatable and less threatening to people and institutions in power.

Let’s also be clear that these narratives are having real and harmful impacts on people and organizations who are working super hard to advance racial justice. Practitioners are seeing their boards, executive teams and funders starting to move away from racial justice work as an emphasis. This retrenchment is most harmful to the people most impacted by inequities – women and non-binary people of color, especially Black women and non-binary people, and others with multiple marginalized identities. For people of all identity backgrounds who are committed to racial justice, times like these can be demoralizing.

Even in moments like these, I still believe we can achieve meaningful wins. And I find myself coming back to three practices that I believe can help sustain us and keep us strategically sharp during this time.

1. Holding onto an expansive analysis. Grace Lee Boggs used to ask organizers: “What time is it on the clock of the world?” Questions like that can help us see past the tensions of the moment to engage with broader forces at play. That can help us reconnect with our visionary thinking, liberatory imagination, and sense of possibility. Personally, I look to people like adrienne maree brown, Prentis Hemphill, and others for clarity on what’s happening in this moment and what I am called upon to do now. That helps keep me grounded.

2. Paying extra attention to how we are with each other. Let’s be honest – pushback against equity work has serious personal ramifications for a lot of us. Some of us could lose jobs or clients. Others may be (rightly) afraid that their work environments might become less safe (if they were ever safe to begin with). Those fears are real, and, if we’re not careful, they’ll lead us to engage with each other in ways that cause harm and don’t line up with our values. Engaging with each other in principled and caring ways – including making and upholding concrete commitments for how we want to be together – can help keep our reserves more full as we weather external challenges.

3. Holding onto a sense of possibility. Even as larger forces – fascism, organized anti-woke backlash, etc. – are at work, I truly believe that people and institutions are movable. Over the last year, I’ve seen people who first showed up against support for Palestine shift their positions and become genuine allies. A lot of white people who are allies for justice now (including me) were once well-meaning people with no concept of the harm they (I) were causing. Even in a time of regression, personal and collective transformation is still possible.

I’ll be honest – I’ve had moments the last few months where I stepped back and asked myself: “What’s the point?” These three practices have gotten me through that, and I hope they’re helpful to you as well.