As the world confronts an unprecedented health and economic crisis, inequalities and social justice have been exposed on many fronts. In June 2020 with the death of George Floyd, the urgency of racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement dominated our news feeds, our social media platforms and our conversations.
Factor10 has being engaging with the wisest and fiercest voices across the globe to learn, unlearn and relearn what this means for us – as humans and as ‘caring processionals’ . We often challenge our clients with the confronting question – ‘What is your role in this?’ A painful question. And one that shifts the conversation forward with agency and accountability.
That is the questions we have been asking ourselves throughout June when exploring anti- racism both individually and collectively.
“I think life is asking us in this moment to take a knee and to feel the pain of others. Think of what it would feel like to have a knee on your neck, your hands in handcuffs behind your back, unable to breathe. And then, do not turn away.” Sean Riley @ Psychology Today
As Maya Angelou said:
“Do the best you can until you know better, then, when you know better, do better’.
As a team of psychologists and coaches, this is our rally call. For us the anti-racism call has been about doing better, about not turning away from the complex, thorny, painful context we face as human beings; and as coaches. And to unlock this in our clients in service of their own journeys and meaning making. This is the call of this time. And our call.
Throughout June and July 2020 we have started and continue the conversation about how to do better – individually, as a team and as a profession. Our focus is on building conceptual confidence around bias, white supremacy, privilege, white fragility and anti-racism. It is confronting our own socialisation around race and our unconscious bias. It is about hearing other experiences and perspectives and exploring the systemic inequalities. It is also about redefining our role as coaches to enable allyship, amplifying voices, advocacy and activism.
We see this as ‘breath work’.
It is a start in doing better.
