Beyond DEI
I used to work on the leading edge of a movement toward a more equal and just society. I was part of a team working to explain how racism is not just about mean spirited people doing mean spirited things to other people. It is about systems that were put in place long before any of us were born.
When the Momentum Center started, we continued this work on the leading edge, believing in the possibility of transformation. We saw a different reality beyond our present situation and we were glad to be at the forefront of leading that charge.
So we were surprised when that work began to be criticized. The very progress we were making, created a backlash against that progress. The work was around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI. These words have somehow been misconstrued and interpreted to mean their exact opposite. Diversity is simply about recognizing that we are all different. Equity is simply about trying to make sure that everyone has the same opportunities. Inclusion is simply about creating a place where we all belong. None of that is about creating divisions or divisiveness.
Twenty-six of us just returned from the Civil Rights Road Trip. One thing is very clear. The anti-DEI messages are not new. They are as old as this country. And the need for this work is as pressing as it ever was.
Importantly, this work also requires moving Beyond the limitation of creating two opposing sides, us and them. When I become intent on seeing myself as right and good and the other as wrong and bad then I become just as destructive as those whose values I claim to resist. So the Momentum Center embraces the kind of revolution that begins with self-awareness. I am part of the problem. All of the evil and greed and violence of the world live inside of me, as does the good, the compassion, and the peace. Embracing the Beyond requires the humility to admit that while I believe I am acting as I should, I don’t know all the ramifications of my actions.
So, we look inward and then we look outward. We move Beyond when we no longer can feel comfortable living according to the standards that keep people down. When we no longer accept the marginalization of others, the devaluing of any human life, the stigma of difference. When we opt out of a culture of greed and violence, we can opt in to finding news ways to engage others. Amber Cabral, in her recent TEDx Talk, shares 3 Steps to Better Connect With Your Fellow Humans. These are steps all of us can take.
Embracing what lies Beyond allows us to bear our pain and the pain of others, not so that we can sit in a corner and feel bad for the state of the world, but so that we have no choice but to act for justice. Because we cannot be fully who we are meant to be as long as anyone is denied their right to be fully who they were meant to be.
Namaste,
Barbara Lee VanHorssen
Experi-Mentor
barbara@momentumcentergh.org
