WTF do I believe about liberation?

I believe that liberation is an inside job. 

I don’t mean that personal freedom is more important than collective freedom, but I am saying that without doing the personal liberation work, we will not ever get to the collective liberation work that so many of us desire and dream of.

And you best believe, I’m not the only one to arrive at this conclusion either.

I have seen too many of us go into collective action groups, social change organizations and justice-driven projects and fail, cause harm or overextend ourselves into burnout, because we are not doing the inner work of liberation. 

What does this inner work look like?

It requires us to: 

1. Identify how oppressive beliefs and behaviors live inside of us
2. Unlearn these oppressive beliefs and behaviors
3. Implement more liberatory ways of being

I believe liberation work asks us to untangle ourselves from White Supremacy culture characteristics such as:

• Either/or thinking
• Worship of the written word
• Objectivity
• Individualism
• Quantity over quality
• Power hoarding
• Fear of open conflict
• Sense of urgency
• Defensiveness
• Paternalism
• Progress is bigger and better
• Only one right way
• Right to comfort
• Perfectionism

Why do we even engage in this inner work?

Because when we don’t do the inner work needed to free ourselves from those same systems we’re trying to change outside of ourselves, then we will continue to inadvertently oppress ourselves and/or each other. 

WTF do I believe about leadership?

I believe leadership is a way of moving with people, not a position you hold at a job. 

I know that traditional, “business-as-usual” leadership (largely informed by hierarchical, oppressive systems) tells us that in order for us to be seen as leaders, we need to be:

• Objective
• All-Knowing
• Extroverted

You might wanna read this post where I debunk these common myths and why they won't free us. 

I actually don’t jive with many common understandings of leadership so I’ve come up with my own. 

I define leadership as an ongoing process of being responsible for self and responsive to others. 

I see the ways birds flock as a form of leadership. Some birds decide to travel together, to move towards a unified direction and when the bird at the very tip of the V formation shifts, another bird takes its place; that’s leadership. We each have a role to play and that role shifts over time.

WTF do I believe about self-doubt?

I believe that the self-doubt that BIPOC and Queer leaders experience is fueled by internalized oppression.

Internalized oppression happens when a marginalized group's beliefs and behaviors about themselves are informed by White supremacist, capitalist and patriarchal systems, even against their own best interest. 

For BIPOC and Queer leaders internalized oppression looks like:

• Believing you don’t belong in certain spaces (cause you’re Queer) even though you are hella qualified. This translates into you not applying for the roles you would be dope at, just because you feel like you don’t belong in those spaces.
• Worrying about what others think (cause you’re healing people-pleasing tendencies) even though you know your shit. This translates into you not sharing what you really think to protect yourself in those spaces.
• Wondering whether you’re good enough (cause your upbringing was rough) even though you’re someone that people regularly go to for support and guidance. This translates into you giving up your own authenticity to belong in those spaces.
• Freaking out over presenting your best solo work (cause you’re a recovering perfectionist) even though you get your best ideas and inspiration from working collaboratively. This translates into you keeping your head down and doing as you’re told just so you’re not rocking the boat in those spaces.
• Thinking others will see you as flaky or unreliable (cause you’re neurodivergent or chronically ill) even though can’t nobody compare to the quality of what you can offer. This translates into you pushing yourself into an unscheduled ‘sick day(s)’ to fit in those spaces.

I honestly don’t blame you, for any of this. As Mariah Carey once said, “I’m doing the best with what I got” and I absolutely believe that of you.

I do blame the various systems of oppression that have planted this seed of doubt within you and me.

I believe you and I have the power to plant new seeds of possibility.

WTF do I believe about speaking up?

Individual ways of speaking up looks like speaking up in smaller moments so that we can build the skill of speaking up and so we can build the evidence that it is okay to speak up. We do not start by speaking up in front of large groups of people or in front of someone who decides our livelihood and safety. 

Collective ways of speaking up looks like having real, honest conversations with colleagues around differing opinions so we can get a sense of what other people are thinking and whether or not people are thinking the same things we are. This helps us build allies, deepen analysis, develop proposals for change and speak up collectively. 

I am a community organizer at heart.

The same way I would organize people around issues, is the same way I would organize my coworkers around ideas.

I say that to say that the same way you use these grassroots skills in your work, is the same way you can use these grassroots skills with your colleagues.

How I might be able to help you