A recap of the Comfort Zone gives us a good foundation:

• America has a status quo when it comes to racial justice, being that Black people are still extremely marginalized in society, and even though we claim to have eliminated racism, it still exists everywhere.

• Unconscious biases exist for all people, because it helps us make decisions quickly and keeps us safe, but they also contribute to racism.

• Whether or not we want to admit it, we as white people benefit from the privilege of our light skin.

• A big part of our allyship journey has to do with building our empathy towards others, especially in the context of racism. We must consistently put ourselves in other’s shoes and give them space to receive our support.

• As white people, we have a tendency to center conversations about race on ourselves because we are so used to everything being focused on us. But we must fight against our urges to focus on our feelings and experiences, and provide opportunities to learn.

This week, we will continue our journey of learning through the same topics, building on what we took away last week.

Ready to jump in?

In the last zone, you learned about the status quo of racism, how you contribute to the white supremacist system, and what small things you can ask yourself to become more empathetic for Black and other POC. (If you’re just joining us, feel free to read through the Comfort Zone!) You were instructed to do a reflection exercise, so take a few minutes to revisit that. Ask yourself, how am I feeling about what I learned? What changes have I made since then? What things have I noticed I am doing to contribute to maintaining the status quo?

Now comes the next part of your journey for racial justice: diversity.

Boiled down, diversity means there is a representation of differences.

Take a moment to do an inventory of the level of diversity in your own life.

• Do you have friends of other races?

• Do you buy from Black-owned businesses?

• How often do you break out of your routine and try something new?

Now that we have framed diversity in terms of our own lives, we often hear diversity being used in the workplace (and have had organizations jam their stances down our throats in the past few months since the murder of George Floyd.)

Traditionally, we have been taught that the presence of diverse backgrounds in an organization is the key to innovation and success, and that if a company has a broad swath of people, then there must be a healthy culture among all of the co-workers.

Unfortunately, most organizations have missed the point completely, and have focused solely on the number of diverse employees they have. Most financially driven companies’ (read: ALL companies) goals are often tied to numbers, and diversity is not exempt.

Mursal Hedayat notes in her Forbes article that:

"Diversity is simply the first step, and without inclusivity, is just tokenism."

So what are our takeaways here?

• Diversity is a good goal, but should not be the only objective.

• Diversity is just the first step of creating an inclusive culture.

• Diversity is a process.

It's important for you to remember that it's your job to educate yourself about anything related to racism, and that you need to be sensitive and respectful to Black and POC when learning. Read this article about why Black people are exhausted of white people's "fuckery."

Action items:

• Make a list of 5 things in your workplace that are jeopardizing diversity for you and your co-workers.

• Make a list of 3 things that you can change about your life to be more diverse.

• Consciously buy 1 item from a company owned and operated by Black owners.

In the Comfort Zone we learned about what unconscious biases are, why we have them, and how they impact our behaviors and the lives of Black and other POC. We learned that Black people are more likely to be reprimanded in school, and don't feel as though they are equals in the most institutionalized processes.

We also learned about unconscious biases in terms of survival, and how it manifests in our 'fight or flight' responses. But outside of survival, unconscious biases can creep up in less in-your-face ways.

The article continues on, saying, “For many White Americans, their ingroups do not include Black Americans. Part of the reason for this has to do with America’s history of racial segregation, which kept white and Black communities separated. Roberts and Rizzo point to studies demonstrating that the amount of exposure a child has to other racial groups early in life affects how they will think about and act toward those groups when they are adults."

So as we can see, unconscious biases creep us on us, say, when we are at work, getting on the bus, walking down the street, making purchases, and basically everything else we do in our daily lives. We are bombarded with so much information on a daily basis, that in order to make decisions and keep things moving, we have to do so with limited information.

Take 10 minutes to watch this TEDx Talk with speaker Melanie Fuchness. Her stories provide powerful context for unconscious bias and how it fuels our racism. One part that took us back was when she told a story about a Black couple who was seeking a medical diagnosis for the husband's ailments, and when the results for the tests were received, the wife demanded that the doctors test her husband for "things White people get checked for."

Lo and behold, her husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Now, it's important to note that unconscious bias is not the same as racism, but that they are closely related. Unconscious biases often lead to discrimination against Black people, whether intentional or not, manifesting as racism. This discrimination leads to things like higher rates of arrest, lower standards of living, less access to vital goods, lower representation in society, among many others.

Whether or not you want to admit it, modern day segregation in large cities like Chicago still exists. In 2020.

Action Items:

• Take the IAT tests from Harvard to anonymously learn about your personal unconscious biases

• Journal about ways that you have seen unconscious biases come to life around you

Let's take a moment to revisit what we learned in the comfort zone about dismantling your white privilege.

Open up your internet browser a search "face beauty."

What do you see?

White women. A lot of white women with porcelain skin. 99% of the pictures have this identity.

This week we are going to focus on you. Right now, read through this eye opening piece from Peggy McIntosh. And pay special attention to the list of 50 items pertaining to white privilege. Note how many of these items you identify with as you read through them, and then come back when you're done.

Now that you've completed the article, we can break down your results. How many statements did you circle? If you circled any, you have been privileged in some way. And for each additional one you circle, your privilege is amplified even more.

And if you're a white male, you have the most privilege of any group of people (Intersectionality lesson to come!).

Boiled down – if you are white, you are privileged in every aspect of your life (and now you have proof from this exercise).

Action Items:

• Take an inventory of instances during the week where you experience a privilege because of your skin color.

  • Look for things that happen that you normally wouldn't think twice about. Identify things like:

    • Were you followed around a store by an employee?

    • When you read publications, do you have the luxury of seeing an overwhelming representation of white people?

    • If you watch the news, how are the stories being presented? How do they talk about white people vs. Black people?

• Watch this famous video from Jane Elliott and her experiment with blue eyes vs. brown eyes.

In the last phase of our empathy lesson we learned what empathy is, and how important it is in your journey towards allyship. This phase’s lesson on empathy will be shorter, as we think it's important to focus on yourself. You'll be doing some self-reflection, identifying some opportunities for growth, and having conversations with others.

You must be able to look inward, address your beliefs, behaviors, and actions, and commit to sustainable change before you can make an impact on anyone else.

Action items

• Psychology Today suggests that to learn empathy, you can try this exercise:

  • Think about your significant other or a friend, family member, or coworker.

  • What has their mood been like in recent days?

  • What’s going on in this person’s life that might be making them happy or sad, anxious, or angry?

  • How are you contributing?

  • What could you do or say to improve this person’s situation?

  • Journal your answers and reflect on a different person every day this week. Acknowledge times where you may have made assumptions about someone else, or have focused on yourself rather than them during a conversation.

    • Psychology Today also recommends keeping up with this checklist during everyday activities. Now, this takes practice, and we know that, but in order to continue on your allyship journey, accepting hard truths and putting in hard work is the name of the game.

• "Empathy – developed by regularly listening to another person’s thoughts and feelings – helps to build both closeness and respect.” To know if you’re practicing empathy when talking to someone, keep this empathy checklist in mind:

  • Focus your attention on them when they’re talking.

  • Don’t fidget or check your phone or gaze out the window. Indicate that you’re listening by looking them in the eyes when they speak, nodding when you understand, and touching their hand or using another gesture to indicate your connection.

  • Show your respect by hearing them out without sarcasm or rejection.

  • If you feel yourself getting angry or annoyed, ask to take a break. Get a glass of water and drink it slowly to give yourself time to mindfully re-center yourself.

  • Repeat what they say in your own words to make sure you’re hearing them correctly or ask questions if you’re not clear about their meaning.

  • Validate their emotions. Even if you don’t agree with an opinion, you can acknowledge the person’s right to their feelings.

• Read this New York Times article and identify 3 ways you can immediately start being more empathetic.

• Watch this 5 minute video.

In the last phase, we covered the importance of keeping track of your “I” statements throughout your allyship. If you’re just joining us in this zone, take a little while and have a conversation with a white friend or family member about what you’re doing. Tell them about why racism is a topic that is important to you, and take a tally of how many times you say “I” during your conversation. Come back when you’re done!

Grab your "I" statements list.

How many times did you say I in that conversation?

Honestly, it doesn't matter.

Here lies the lesson: You are now aware of "I" statements and their impact when white people talk about topics related to racism. Awareness might not seem like a lot, but the fact that you're now actively thinking about what you're saying – that's the impactful part. Accountability (another topic we work on in this allyship journey) will make or break your success.

By holding yourself accountable with your "I" statements, you are acknowledging that your behavior is important.

Now, grab your journal. We want you to revisit why you are here, what you want to get out of this journey, and how you've identified what success looks like. It's important for you to keep why you are here top of mind, and revise your desired outcomes when necessary. You've probably learned a lot about yourself already, and this is a good time to acknowledge that allyship is a journey that is never over. You will forever be putting in effort when it comes to being allies for our Black friends, so you should constantly be on the lookout to learn something new. It's also a good idea to think about going on this journey alongside someone else on their own journey – this will help keep you motivated and engaged, and will also give you an outside opinion on your progress.

Action Items

• Have at least 2 conversations with white people about race. While you have this conversation, take note of the following:

  • How many times did you say "I" while talking?

  • What feelings did you have during this conversation?

  • What did you learn from this conversation?

• Read the following articles:

  • Learn about allyship fatigue

  • Black America is so very tired of explaining and debating

• Journal about the following:

  • Identify how you felt this week vs. last week's conversations.

  • What did you learn during your conversations?

  • What new questions do you have?