I had the chance to put some thoughts together on this year's Black History Month theme "Resistance".
The theme of this year’s Black History Month is “Resistance.” I’m sure, for most people, that term brings to mind images of protests and people marching in the streets. However, resistance comes in a myriad of forms, many much more subtle. For example, resistance results when we choose to go against or step out of the usual flow of things. As an IDEA practitioner, I am working to resist the status quo in how we practice and apply equitable approaches to my work.
As an IDEA practitioner, many of us can repeat the common phrases and word salad we’ve come across pertaining to cross-cultural communications and multicultural communications approaches. One term many never quite cared for is “cultural competency.” Loosely defined as “the ability to engage knowledgeably with people across cultures,” many of my IDEA peers express the same sentiments: it over-complicates, it is not possible to be competent in all cultures, it is not distinct enough to be applicable. Cultural competency is a notion professionals long ago deemed an impossibility.
One of the main challenges to achieving cultural competency simply results from the fact that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ethnic makeup of many industries is 87.4% White. Speaking as a member of a historically marginalized and presently underrepresented community, as an alternative to asserting your understanding of various demographics, I would prefer that professionals ask themselves a few pertinent questions, such as:
Is there a member of the community we are excluding from a decision-making role?
Who else needs to be at this table?
What are the power dynamics at play in our decision-making?
Is there a need for someone to step aside and make room for more members of the community we are reaching?
Beyond that, I would encourage you to instead embrace the concept of Cultural Humility. Cultural humility is a phrase and a principle of equity. I find it to be far more achievable, and an apt reframe of a layered concept. The term was “introduced in 1998 as a means of acknowledging and addressing one’s own biases.” It was coined by Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia, and was intended to describe a way of incorporating multicultural considerations into their work. Those closest to the problem are those best equipped to craft the solutions. Those are whom leaders need to speak with in order to progress with the culture.
I’m grateful this Black History Month, and every season, for the opportunity to be a guide in crafting solutions that shift conditions towards equity for all.
As a Black Woman, every month is Black History Month!
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