Black Fatigue
- Darlene Edgar
Analytics
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.