REAL DEIL Wisdom for Ears That Hear (part of the REAL DEIL™ series)

I’ve been feeling some kind of way about what I’ve been observing on LinkedIn lately.

Each day “humanity” seems to be moving more willfully toward sealing the world’s doom. And in “super-power” fashion, the United States is leading the pack.

First at being worse when it comes to racial equity and justice. Google it.

First at being worse when it comes to caring about its citizens—especially the most vulnerable among us. Google it.

First at being worse when it comes to healthcare for all—affordable or otherwise. Google it.

First at being worse when it comes to maternal mortality. Google it.

First at being worse when it comes to gun violence. Google it.

First at being worse when it comes to violent white male extremists. Google it.

But I digress…..so back to LinkedIn.

Folks are out here dictating that everyone MUST respect and grieve the passing of a “royal” white woman who symbolizes colonizing and genocidal trauma for so many.

Folks are out here losing their ish over a fictional Disney character because she was cast Black instead of white.

Folks are out here doing their scheduled performative posturing supporting pay equity while at the same time having the means to actually close the pay gap but won’t.

That’s only some of the main dish on the newsfeed.

And in related LinkedIn news, a Black man was going all-in defending a white woman who inserted herself and her privilege onto another Black man’s post and caused harm.

She wouldn’t shut up even when so many were shutting her down in order to stop the harm.

And in typical “Black lived experience” fashion, she doubled down and went full-on DARVO. White women’s tears have a way of manifesting virtually.

Oh boo-hoo that everyone misunderstand her intent because…..”I was only trying to….”

Yada Yada Yada….

And….get this…..her Black rescuer was bashing Black folks in order to “save the poor white damsel in distress” who was figuratively batting her lashes at him and cheering him on as her defender and protector.

Is there both a block and “Black card revoked” function that we can activate on the newsfeed?

Asking for all the real kinfolk.

And of course, per the usual, I’ve been labelled racist, hateful, and divisive.

Do you think we’ll reach the point in the “show” where ACTUAL RACISM is denounced as strongly and viscerally as are those of us who call it out?

Anyhoo…..

I’m absolutely Blaxhausted™ over the escalation of the ongoing dumbfukkkery.

And so today’s edition is centered on “stream of consciousness” wisdom.

In no particular thematic order.

If something goes over your head,

then it’s not for you.

What’s meant for you, you will know. You will discern it.

I guess, in a very big way, today’s edition is the IYKYK edition.

So, here’s “thirty for the thirsty” … aka REAL DEIL Wisdom for Ears that Hear

1. Don’t wait to speak the truth when people are ready. Speak the truth so people can be ready.
2. Unsafeness and retaliation will take down DEI every time because both are so normalized and habitual that they’ve become company policy and SOP.
3. Here’s another reason why DEI is failing—You don’t hang up curtains in a burning house.
4. “Receipts” put everything in the open; deceit pulls everything into the dark.
5. We win by being bigger on the inside than we are on the outside.
6. Both adversaries and “friends” will come at you with “T”—a trap, a trick, a test, or a temptation.
7. Things enter our thoughts through our eyes and ears. Yes, guard your heart, and also guard your eyes and ears.
8. Systems won’t change unless individuals who “oversee” them are also being changed.
9. Friends of the world have their reward already.
10. Those who “shape” spaces through oppression, subjugation, or violence reveal who their father is.
11. Each of us is always serving something or someone; and many are unaware of what and who they serve.
12. Believing the lie empowers the liar; believing the truth powers and empowers you.
13. Beware of the crowd; an aspect of freedom is willingness to stand alone.
14. Socially acceptable or legal does not mean morally good or just.
15. Sometimes the cure for exhaustion is not rest; it’s wholeheartedness.
16. If the system of whiteness keeps advancing and elevating you, then you’re in way deep.
17. Feelings buried alive don’t die. What they do is resurface in unpredictable ways.
18. Few people admit to low self-awareness because people with low self-awareness are not aware that they have low self-awareness.
19. The fight is with the system and its soldiers.
20. It is not the responsibility of the oppressed to make the oppressor “morally whole.”
21. To go somewhere else, you have to leave where you are. To be who you are, you have to return to whose you are.
22. You are useless in war if you’ve lost the battle in your mind.
23. Armor protects you from external threats and also insulates your strength.
24. A Black face can be blackface for white supremacy.
25. Black skin is one of the best “hiding places” for whiteness.
26. You can’t free people who don’t want to be freed.
27. You can’t save people who don’t want to be saved.
28. You can’t wake up people who don’t want to wake up.
29. It’s not what you do, it’s why you do it.
30. Anything that is not from the depth in you will not reach the depth in anyone else.

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LAST CALL

In the spirit of equipping individual teachers to combat anti-Black racism in schools…..

I’m offering 50 teachers in 50 states and a teacher in Washington, D.C. this…

a complimentary enrollment in my signature on-demand course, “Doing the Heart Work of Anti-Racism and Inclusion™.

That’s 51 teachers I’m reaching across the country.

The course, which retails individually for $1497, consists of 7 modules, 40 lessons. Teachers at all levels K thru 12, teaching any subject, are eligible to apply.

My hope is that teachers who are sincere about “getting it right”–whether they are in states like Texas or Florida–can access tools that educate and guide them on anti-racist speech, behavior, actions, tools in the classroom with students; during conferences with parents; during in-service, PLC, PD with peer teachers; in meetings with school administrators.

 Interested teachers can get more information and apply here. The 51 selected teachers will be notified September 29, the last Thursday of the month.

Do you know of a teacher in your state who would be a good candidate? Send them the link. Does your child have a teacher who would benefit? Send them the link. Have you been in contact with a teacher in Texas or Florida? Whew chile……please send them the link.

My goal with this course is to reach one and teach one in all 50 states (and D.C.)

 Let’s get this done!

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 LAST CALL

There’s still time for you to apply to be a member of my “True Anti-Racism Allies Academy.” The optimum term here is “true.”

Having launched August 1, the Academy is a subscription-based community for aspiring anti-racism allies and anti-racism allies-in-progress to (un)learn and grow to become impactivists™. Benefits include community support for the journey, coaching, content not released on LinkedIn, minimum of one video lesson per month, monthly invitation to a live virtual learning lab.

The community is NOT right for those who are “fragile,” ego-driven, unreceptive to feedback and correction, averse or “allergic” to discomfort, or are looking for “ally cookies.”

 Membership is neither automatic nor guaranteed.

Our first week together focused on “adulting” (it doesn’t mean what you think it means in the anti-racism space) as a non-desirable trait for impactivists™ and on what it means to really listen. We’ve since been doing the work together on

•  The Impact Apology
• White Saviorism
• Interrupters
• The S.T.O.P. Method
• White Silence
• Weaponizing Black “friends”
• Reach or Release
• “Karen” and “Karen-ish” women

Plus, we’re having our second Live Virtual Learning Lab September 30, the last day the community will be open to new members.

Click here for more information and to apply.