Black Fatigue

Owned by Darlene Edgar
Nov 23, 2023
1 min read

Winters, M.-F. (2020), BLACK FATIGUE: RACISM, ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE ROLE OF FUTURE LEADERSHIP. Leader to Leader, 2020: 7-13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ltl.20539

Black Fatigue: Racism, Organizations, and Future Leadership:

  • In 2020, global protests against racism brought attention to the emotional toll on Black individuals.

  • CEOs often lack awareness of the day-to-day racism faced by Black people.

  • Laws addressing natural Black hair highlight the absurdity of racism.

  • Racism leads to physiological and psychological issues.

  • Organizations responded with initiatives and pledges, but skepticism exists about their sincerity.

  • "Preaching to the choir": Sessions on white culture are attended by minorities, leading to frustration and limited progress.

  • Whiteness theory concepts highlight the challenge of white individuals seeing themselves as raceless and cultureless.

Addressing Racism:

  • Racism is interpersonal, internalized, institutional, and structural.

  • Intra- and interpersonal solutions (resistance, healing, restoration, faith, rest, resilience) treat symptoms but don't solve the root cause.

  • White people must recognize their culture's normalization renders others abnormal.

  • Institutional and structural racism must be acknowledged and addressed.

Corporate Leaders' Actions:

  • Traditional Methods:

    • Diversity drives innovation, more women CEOs, and profits.

    • Focus on diversity as good for business but hesitate to admit it's simply the right thing to do.

  • Real Change:

    • Support criminal justice reform, take a public stand against police brutality.

    • Partner with lower-income public schools, lobby for equitable K-12 school funding.

    • Advocate for equitable bank requirements to increase access to loans for Black individuals.

    • Conduct cultural audits, analyze outcomes for BIPOC identity groups.

    • Address disparities in performance ratings and terminations through reverse engineering.

    • Hold leaders accountable for creating an inclusive culture.

    • Listen to and incorporate Black people's recommendations; challenge traditional gatekeepers.

    • Reevaluate legal risk aversion tactics and address legal rights associated with transgender parity.