Nadiah Mohajir

A Dua for Reproductive Justice

May 7, 2024 by Nadiah Mohajir Leave a Comment

Bismilah ar-rahman ar-rahim. I begin today in the name of our Lord – most gracious, most merciful. We are rooted in the whole of Bismillah, which contains the two words Raḥmān and Raḥīm, or divine mercy and compassion. Raḥmān and Raḥīm find their roots in the word, Rehm, or womb. We know, Ya Rahman, that Your mercy for us is more than we can imagine – it is greater than the mercy a person feels toward that which is in their womb.

Ya Hafiz, the One who Protects. We are living during a time of great unrest. Of horrifying reproductive injustice – right here a mile from this hotel to across the world in Sudan and Palestine. Too many of our siblings are not able to be pregnant (or not be pregnant) safely. Too many of our siblings are unable to parent their children when food and water is scarce and hospitals are being bombed. Too many of our siblings are experiencing state violence: criminalized for their own pregnancy losses, or witnessing their loved ones suffering from police brutality. We pray that you bring security to our communities facing unrest, facing genocide and oppression. Facing inexplicable loss and horrifying violence. There is no reproductive justice without a Free Palestine. Without an un-exploited Congo. Without a liberated Sudan.

Ya Mujeeb, the One who responds. Hear the cries of grieving families as they bid farewell to their loved ones in warzones, in famine, in our backyards inflicted by police brutality and envelope them in your compassion. Hear the cries of children as they face the reality of the newly invented acronym, WCNSF, Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. Hear the cries of our anti-zionist Jewish siblings who are calling for an end to this violence, who are putting their lives and safety on the line to say “Not in our name.” Respond to them by enveloping them in your Mercy. Ya Rahman Ya Rahim, respond to them by enveloping them in your Mercy.

Ya Khaliq, the One who Creates. You created us to be in diverse nations and tribes, so that we may know each other (not that we may despise (each other) (Quran 49:13). Ya ‘Alim, the One Who knows Everything. You created, in your wisdom, a region that brings our three Abrahamic traditions together. A region where our beloved Prophets Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, may peace and blessings of God be upon them, once walked and modeled for us how to be the best of human beings. Bestow upon us the wisdom of our beloved Prophets, that walked these paths before us, and guide us to follow in their footsteps. Now, this sacred land that Muslims, Christians, and Jews, and other people of faith worship on, is currently in deep devastation. Bestow us with the compassion and empathy to weep for all the mothers – regardless of identity – who must bury their children too soon because of oppression and war. Ya Khaliq, You created us all to be equal before You. Bestow us with the unconditional love for all our sweet babies – regardless of faith – so that we may be their protectors, as You entrusted us with their safety and their care.

Ya ‘Adl. You are the Most Just. Ya Hakam. The Best Judge. Bring justice to those who are oppressed. In Afghanistan, Kashmir, Atlanta, China, Palestine, Yemen, India, the Bronx. Deliver justice to our brave students on college campuses. The list is never ending – May all those seeking justice be granted strength and victory. Bring justice to all those who have lost their lives because of hate. To those who have lost their jobs, their degrees, their safety for speaking their truth. Only You can rectify the plight of the oppressed, Ya Wakeel, the One we rely on, we frequently hear our Palestinian siblings cry: Hasbunllahu wa nimal wakeel, because we know that You, God, are sufficient for us, and You are the best Guardian, protector, and disposer of affairs. Ya Adl. Bring justice to those who are oppressed.

Ya Lateef. You are the Most Gentle. Ya Karim. You are the Most Generous. Bring your gentleness to our world. Ya Wadood, the Most Loving, we keep Your promise close to our hearts: Fa inni ma’al usri yusra. Inni ma’al yusri yusra. For indeed, with hardship there will be ease. With hardship, there will be ease.

Ya Shafi, there is no Healer but You. Heal our hearts of supremacy. That allows us to believe that we are better than another simply due to identity. That compels us to harm and oppress another. Heal our hearts of indifference. Indifference to the cries of those suffering, and enable us to move collectively toward liberation for all.

Ya Basit, the One who amplifies abundance. Bless our communities when we gather, our love for You unites us, our passion to achieve reproductive justice guides us. Expand and widen our hearts and souls, and give us the wisdom to struggle together and draw upon our shared values to achieve liberation.

Ya Haadi, You are the Best Guide we could ask for. You are the only Guide we need. We pray you guide us to always be on the side of reproductive Justice and accept our work toward reproductive justice in service to You. We pray that you Guide us to build communities that are safe and free of violence and oppression, where all people can exercise self determination over their reproductive lives, in the communities they live, work, and pray. Ameen.

Being victim-centered when a revered leader dies

September 9, 2021 by Nadiah Mohajir 1 Comment

The recent death of a revered scholar that has also harmed people has brought up many emotions. Earlier this week, we posted about how those who do good can also do harm. Today, we wrap up this week by diving deeper into the range of complex emotions that have been shared, and uplift some of the voices that are not as dominant.

1) Those who do good can also do harm. One person’s experience of someone may be full of deep connection, learning, and growth, while another person’s experience may be full of pain, isolation, and oppression. Neither experience is invalid, and both can be given the proper attention they deserve. Centering the voices of those who have been harmed – even if they are few compared to those who have benefited – is critical to building safe and inclusive communities and preventing future harm.

2) The impact of spiritual abuse and violence can last well after the abuser’s tenure. That harm should be addressed openly with honest conversations during their lifetime, and, if necessary, also after they die.* The impacts of harm – particularly spiritual abuse and gender-based violence – can last a lifetime, well beyond the tenure of an abuser’s leadership or their life. The person who has harmed will almost always be able to move on, while those who have experienced their harm may never be the same and will carry that trauma with them for a lifetime.

3) Ignoring the harm that happens because of spiritual abuse is disrespectful to survivors. Not addressing it, minimizing it, or reducing it to mistakes or ‘human flaws’ is deeply disrespectful to the painful experiences that those who have been harmed by the community leader. It erases their experience and lived realities and can impact their healing journey. For those who are community leaders, it rewrites history in a way that can cause lasting harm.

4) Spiritual abuse by a person in leadership results in multiple layers of harm. When a leader uses their religious authority to gain control over others, there is a betrayal at the individual, community, and institutional levels (if there is an institution involved). Specifically, those that are harmed include the individual(s) that directly experienced the harm, as well as those who take spiritual guidance from the leader and now are left to grapple with their teacher’s actions. This can cause great crises of faith, and many to feel like they lost their sense of community and question their faith altogether.

5) Accountability must happen publicly for those in leadership. Every believer has an opportunity to privately repent, repair, and ask for forgiveness from their Lord, and from those they have harmed. When the person who has harmed is in a position of public leadership and religious authority, this accountability process must happen publicly as well: the naming of their abuses and how they will repair the harm can be critical to modeling accountability as well as providing closure for those who have been harmed.

6) We all contribute to harm. We all can participate the re-traumatization and triggering of those who have been harmed. This includes: other religious scholars or community leaders glorifying the person who has harmed when they die and not acknowledging the pain they may have caused. It can also look like silencing others who choose to speak up about the complexity of their feelings by shaming them or telling them not to speak ill of the dead.

7) Justice is in this world and the Next. True justice lies with God and we are still obligated to build just communities in this world. How we respond to and address harm, support survivors, and build communities of care that center the most marginalized is working to fulfill that obligation and every one of us has a role in this work. Spiritual abuse doesn’t happen in a vacuum – there are often people and systems in place that enable the harm to continue. Repairing harm with survivors can and should happen even after the tenure or passing of the person that harmed them.

We can create communities that are victim-centered and acknowledge the complexity of human beings, and hold their contributions to this world alongside the harm that they’ve done. We don’t have to reinforce the binary of heroes and monsters, because most of the time life is not one way or another; it is messy and complex. Multiple conflicting truths do exist: those who can be the source of a lot of good can also be the source of a lot of pain. That pain can often be difficult to grapple with, or reconcile, and it is indeed easier to pretend it never happened, especially upon someone’s death. And yet, we cannot continue to build communities that come at the expense of those who have been most marginalized – otherwise we are only replicating those systems of harm.

Survivors – this week, and always – we see you. We feel you. We hear you. We are you.

*we are grateful for Dr. Donna Auston for uplifting this important reflection.

The Cycle of Violence in Muslim Community Spaces

January 12, 2021 by Nadiah Mohajir Leave a Comment

analysis by HEART + Justice for Muslims Collective

Every couple of months, our communities erupt with new allegations of gender-based violence (GBV). Many times, these allegations involve respected and revered community leaders – often male – who are accused of horrifying acts of physical, sexual, and/or spiritual abuse. This is followed by a cycle of events, with this violence occurring at every level of society:

Allegations of harm are revealed when a survivor(s) comes forward; others come forward to affirm the story, and share their own stories of harm, often at the hands of the same leader or institution (interpersonal + institutional violence).
Community uproar begins: excuses are made for the accused, followed by a statement of defense made by the accused. Survivors and their advocates are silenced and evidence is demanded (community violence).
The organization/community attempts a quick fix (ie removing the accused, hosting a training, etc) or, worse, does nothing and given there is no such a thing as being neutral in these situations, sides with the accused (institutional violence)
A narrative is also created that the accused is the actual victim and is being targeted because of who they are or the power/money/fame they have.
The culture of harm in the organization/community is not challenged and the quick fix does little to address the root causes of the violence.
The community continues to donate to and supports the organization, and provides platforms to the accused. (community + structural violence)
Follow up with the impacted survivors is left to a small group of advocates, who are further vilified and accused of destroying communities and families. (structural + community violence)
This individual incident also further harms survivors who are less likely to come forward due to the lack of community support and active hostility and victim-blaming of survivors.

And the cycle continues, a few months later, sometimes with different players (other times with the same players) but the same textbook series of events. Hence we end up living in a cycle of impunity where survivors are consistently disposed of and excluded, and systems of power and privilege are preserved. This cycle is illustrated below, and shows the relationship between interpersonal violence, community violence, institutional violence, and structural violence.

As we consider this pattern, an important question to ask ourselves is: how are we, as individuals, as communities, and as institutions, contributing to this cycle of violence? At which point do we, as individuals, communities, and institutions, have the power to disrupt this cycle? Many of us struggle with the discomfort of interrogating these questions because it inevitably brings a hard truth to the surface: that we all, in some way, are contributing to this cycle of gender-based violence. However, the first step to disrupting the cycle of violence at every level is to reckon with this very reality.

Over the years, we have had no shortage of organizations, initiatives, and activists calling attention to this cycle, raising awareness on various types of gender-based violence (GBV), and calling for more accountability, justice, and a proactive commitment to prevention in our institutions. And yet, this cycle of violence occurs over and over again, and the ever present question rises to the surface: Why haven’t we seen a decrease in the prevalence of GBV despite all the good work happening?

The answer to this question requires an understanding that gender-based violence exists on a spectrum. GBV in our organizations doesn’t begin with the horrifying act of violence you just heard about on the news or on facebook. Rather, it begins well before that. We identify this as spectrum of gender based harm in Muslim spaces. This spectrum of behaviors isn’t necessarily linear and exclusive – they can be overlapping, reinforce, and exist in the same plane together.

We can identify behaviors, actions, and instances where these parts of the spectrum show up in our Muslim communities, organizations, and families.

It can be seen with the ever-present pay inequities coupled with toxic work environments, and an unhealthy work-life balance.
The gender and racial discrimination.
The tokenization of marginalized identities, while concentrating power in the hands of people with privileged identities.
The silencing (or firing) of staff that try to speak up when they feel they are being mistreated or challenge authority.
The silencing of former employees by asking them to sign NDAs when they leave.
The boards that are informed of inequities in their organization and choose not to do anything about it.
It begins with the reality that our communities continue to invest in organizations that perpetuate harm and under-resource those working to dismantle those systems.

As such, it is critical to approach GBV using a comprehensive ecological approach that shifts the burden of focus of prevention efforts from the individual (ie bystander education, crisis intervention, general education) to the institutional and structural level: which more often than not, is where the source of money, power, and oppression lies.

This shift requires thinking about what institutional and structural accountability looks like:

What policies (structural and institutional) need to be implemented to reduce the burden of reporting on survivors?
How does power need to be redistributed so that the most impacted are not tokenized, or worse, further marginalized, but truly uplifted, seen, and heard?
How can boards and institutional leadership engage in accountability practices that actively work to reduce harm when and as it is happening instead of as an afterthought. This requires relationship building with staff and not just executive leadership.
How do fundraising and philanthropy practices preserve certain systems of power?
How can institutions and leadership use their large platforms for public education campaigns that address some of the root causes of gender-based violence such as racism, white supremacy, toxic masculinity, and rape culture?

For far too long, our communities have been investing in structural violence. While we do not have the power to disrupt GBV at every level, or even change every institution, we can do our part in holding our institutions accountable. Accountability can take many forms. Consider the following:

Withholding donations, and other types of support, like inviting those accused of doing harm to give keynotes, sit on panels, etc
Asking for leadership change, and interrogating how leadership is identified and selected. By what criteria? By what ethical standards are they held to?
Challenging organizations to think about their workplace cultures. This can include considering the racial and gender makeup of their leadership, staff, and board, and their practices around inclusion. Who is allowed into their spaces? Who experiences a barrier to entry into their spaces? Who holds decision making power? Is power concentrated in the hands of a few, or distributed throughout the organization? How are they working to build more equitable workplaces?

Our faith has a strong tradition of upholding justice and protecting the most marginalized. It is imperative our institutions are organized in such a way that models this tradition. We must ensure that leaders and organizations across Muslim communities aren’t further replicating the violence they are trying to address in their workplaces, toward their colleagues, and their families. It’s important that our leaders are in integrity and consistently practice what they preach. Movements have often failed, in part, due to the tolerance of patriarchy, misogyny, and violence by male leaders. What is destroying our communities is the lack of support for those who are marginalized and the upholding and preservation of structures, norms, and leadership that actively harm. Gender-based violence cannot be seen as a lesser issue of importance to address, but rather should be seen as integral to the fight for our collective rights and liberation.

Believe Survivors: Embodying a Victim-Centered Approach

January 5, 2021 by Nadiah Mohajir Leave a Comment

If someone comes forward with allegations of gender-based violence (GBV), one of the first debates that erupts is whether or not the survivor is lying. However, we know that research indicates that the likelihood of allegations being false is very slim. The risks of coming forward far outweigh any “benefits” they may get. Victims/survivors* are often risking their families, their livelihood, their credibility, and their personhood in order to bring forth these allegations, seek safety, and restart their lives. As such, many still struggle to show their support for victims/survivors because of their discomfort for what it means for the accused: that they are automatically declared guilty, and will not get a fair accountability process.

Believing survivors is not denying the accused due process. Believing and supporting survivors, ensuring their safety, securing the necessary funds they may need, and ensuring they get connected to the resources and services they need, is completely separate from the accountability process the accused may be asked to participate in (ie legal system, institutional accountability, community accountability, etc). Too often, our communities feel like they have to choose between two options: either believing survivors (that it happened) or believing the accused (that the allegations are false).

While supporting survivors may overlap with the accountability process, it is also separate from each other, and not everyone has the necessary role or responsibility to participate in the accountability process. In fact, rest assured that most people *should not* be playing the role of investigating and determining whether or not the accused is guilty or whether the allegations are true. Those who may be involved in accountability processes can include: the survivor, the accused, law enforcement, lawyers, third party investigators, institutional leadership, restorative justice practitioners, and other trained professionals. Engaging in an accountability process when you are not in the role of determining guilt, whether by interrogation of the survivor, or even simply public discourse, is actually more harmful to all parties, including, and especially, the survivor.

However, everyone *can* and *should* know how to offer support to survivors in their moment of need and direct them to the resources and services they need. As such supporting survivors can look like:

Crisis intervention: assisting survivors to safety plan, secure safe shelter + housing, food, and other social services necessary for their survival.
Securing funding: often, survivors need access to financial resources to secure the necessary legal services, counseling, and restart their lives
Ensuring social + physical safety while the case is unfolding: when survivors speak up, or choose to leave an abusive situation, they often continue to experience threats, pressure, and intimidation, both from the person that is harming them as well as the community that is supporting the accused (family, supporters, etc).
Following their lead. Meet the survivor where they are at and follow the survivor’s lead when it comes to what they are asking for. GBV is when power and control is taken from the survivor, and so the most empowering thing you can do is to give it back to them. If they do not want to file a police report, respect that, no matter how much you think it is a good idea they should. If they need funds, help them find resources. If they are looking for institutional accountability, help them navigate what accountability processes are at the institution of question. Perhaps they are just looking for someone to believe and affirm their experience. It is critical to let them be in the driver’s seat. Note that this applies to adult survivors. If the survivor is a minor, this is harder to do as there are mandated reporting requirements, and a separate process for that.
Understanding the impact of trauma. Trauma can have multiple and lifelong impacts on the survivor, and their families who are supporting them. It can manifest in many ways including anger, sadness, depression, memory loss, etc. Understand that if you are seeing a case unfold, and you notice the survivor is “changing their story,” backing out from a legal process, “picking fights” with others, or simply not wanting any part in the case or process, it is likely a trauma response, not that they are lying.
Disrupting victim blaming. As conversations erupt on social media, in community spaces, and even at the dinner table, often the case is discussed and dissected, and often “intellectualized” where people try to identify how it could have been prevented. This is often dangerous, and leads to much victim blaming. It is critical to disrupt the victim blaming, and end the conversation, if necessary.

While there are many who may feel that they are being victim-centered in their approach, often, there are many mistakes that are made. What may not be helpful to victims/survivors:

Violating privacy and confidentiality. Telling their story, and sharing details, speaking on their behalf, without their permission, even under the motivation of trying to help their cause, can actually cause more harm, retraumatization, and the spreading of rumors and misinformation. Moreover, this can also hinder a potential active legal case and/or investigation,
Dictating what you think they should do. It is not helpful to tell a survivor what they should or should not do, especially if they did not ask for it.
Asking them for evidence. Their testimony is their evidence. Moreover, if there is a legal case or another type of investigation, they will have to repeat their story and produce “evidence” as needed. Asking them as a (concerned) community member so that you can make an informed assessment is neither your role, nor is it helpful or supportive. Again, it can cause additional harm and retraumatization. Other times, it can compromise an ongoing investigation that may already be happening.
Calling for an accountability process that is not survivor-led. While you may have many opinions about this person, it is complicated. Often, the accused is a loved one, a spouse, a parent, etc that may still be in relationship with the survivor. Additionally, the survivor may still be financially or otherwise dependent on the accused, may also still have love or respect for their accuser. While they may want the abuse to stop and ultimately be free of the situation, they may not want the accused to be painted as a monster. In short, calls for public accountability that are not survivor-led also can have immediate impacts on the survivors physical, social, emotional, and financial safety. Moreover, as noted above, survivor support and community accountability are two separate processes.

As gender-based violence continues to plague our communities, we must all work to understand what it means to center survivors and their needs. Survivor-led/victim-centered processes can be frustrating, especially if you disagree with what the survivor/victim ultimately decides. However, these approaches are critical in order to give power and control back to the person that is the most impacted by the violence: the survivor/victim. While every case is unique and has its specific nuances, we have worked to create tools to make the survivor/victim support process easier. From our RAHMA principles to our avenues for support and our barriers to disclosure video, we hope you are able to find these tools useful to support the survivors in your life.

Resources to learn more:

*There are different opinions on the use of the terms victim and survivor. Some individuals who have experienced [an incidence of GBV (such as sexual assault)] refer to themselves as victims because they were victimized by a violent offense. This term also stresses the fact that the assault was not their fault. Other individuals who have experienced [a sexual assault] however, embrace the term survivor because it highlights the strength required to survive sexual violence and reach out for help. The transition from victim to survivor is a personal, self-identified continuum. It is up to the individual to make their own decision. Typically, a person who was recently assaulted is referred to as a victim, while someone whose assault happened further in the past is referred to as a survivor. It’s important to acknowledge the reality that many people who experience violence don’t actually survive it. – Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Facilitators, by Mariame Kaba & Shira Hassan

Working toward Authentic Inclusion

August 4, 2020 by Nadiah Mohajir Leave a Comment

two colorful hands holding each other — Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

by Nadiah Mohajir

A recent study by Brigham Young University explored the experiences of female students in a predominantly male collegiate accounting program, and found the challenges that women often face with being heard. Specifically, the article states:

“After years spent analyzing lab and real-life settings to determine what it takes for a woman to really be heard—to truly be perceived as competent and influential—these professors have found the same truth: for women, having a seat at the table does not mean having a voice.”

While I absolutely did not need a study to validate my lived experience, it is quite affirming that researchers have found what women and other marginalized people have known all their lives. At HEART, we are committed to building inclusive communities that foster belonging, and as such we are constantly asking the question: what is tokenization versus authentic inclusion? While we don’t have all the answers, are still very much immersed in trying to figure this out, and are *definitely* making mistakes along the way, we have learned a few lessons over the years.

Too many of those we work with have stories where their workplaces either excluded them entirely, or merely tokenized them, a finding that is also backed by research. This is often due to the fact that our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts often start – and end – at checking off boxes of identities when making staffing and board recruitment decisions. Moreover, this pursuit of diversity, inclusion, and equity often are buzz words that organizations throw around but avoid addressing the real systemic issues that are at the root of marginalization in many organizations: implicit bias, microaggressions, and racism. And so, the recruitment process is just the beginning. In order for authentic inclusion to happen and to achieve true equity, strong relationship building, self reflection, and organizational culture shifts must happen.

Additionally, a common mistake we make is focusing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts only on predominantly white led organizations. While this is absolutely important, we know that it is possible for the habits of dominant culture and white supremacy to be deeply ingrained in many communities of color as well. And so, for all the Muslim led organizations and mosques who currently feel like this conversation may not apply to you because you have X number of women or some other marginalized identity on your board/staff, know that having a seat is not enough. It has never been enough. And if you notice that year after year, you have women or another marginalized identity handing in their resignation, you are likely not giving them a voice. So what are some actions leaders can take to ensure the marginalized identities in teams have the voice they deserve?

Trustbuilding

Start with the relationship not the work. This really is helpful in guiding any working relationship, but is particularly useful in communities of color who carry with them mistrust due to a history of microaggressions and systemic racism. Organize team lunches, storytelling sessions, one-on-one get to know you conversations, etc. Don’t think that is taking away from the work: relationship building is the work because it builds trust.

Running Meetings

Observe. In your next meeting, observe how much time and space individuals take up and see if there are patterns. Are there certain people that take up more space than others? Taking up space can look like, talking a lot, introducing ideas, and interrupting others. Moreover, observe who is getting credit for great ideas. Are great ideas being introduced by women and/or other marginalized identity but co-opted by their (male) leadership?
Begin with group norms or community agreements. These are commitments the team is making to each other about how they want to be in company with each other and what they need for open, honest collaboration and productivity. Often, these conversations can be relationship building opportunities as well as a way to get to know who’s at the table. Asking everyone to reflect on what habits may make them speak up less or ‘shut down’ can be incredibly insightful information for those responsible to run the meeting. Finally, Including agreements such as “everyone has a voice” and “move up, move back” can encourage those who take up more space to listen and those who don’t speak up to share their voice.
Don’t be afraid to interrupt or correct information. If you are running the meeting, gently interrupt those who are taking up too much space to make room for those who aren’t. This will likely cause a lot of (male) tears, and it’s absolutely a critical practice to get people who need to listen more learn that skill. Moreover, if you notice an idea is being reintroduced as someone else’s, make sure you uplift and applaud the original individual who brought that idea to the table.

Meeting Needs

Understand the unique needs of your team. If you’ve taken the energy to diversify your team, the next step is to understand the diverse needs of the team. Specifically, what are the unique needs of marginalized identities on your team? These unique needs are not just acknowledged but addressed and met with creative solutions. Does the caregiver on your team need certain meetings to be scheduled during nap time or when they have childcare in order to be fully present? Are there people on your team that identify as survivors that need access to certain community care and healing resources? Are there people on your team that have particular religious needs? For example are there accommodations made for prayer or Ramadan? Is it possible for Muslim staff to not travel or attend evening meetings to recognize that they are in Ramadan?

Ownership, Decisionmaking, and Power

Explore who has power. Ask yourself, who is given ownership and agency over work and how are they rewarded when they deliver? How are decisions made? If you have diversified your board or executive team by bringing on more women, do they have equal say in how decisions are made or how projects are led? Who is trusted with leadership in the team you are in? Are the people that are deemed privileged to have access to information determined in a transparent, and equitable way that considers everyone’s role?
Understand the relationship between representation and the distribution of power. Do women and other marginalized identities see themselves reflected in your executive leadership and/or board which is generally where the power lies? If an organization’s executive leadership and/or board all look the same, have similar education, financial backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientation, chances are the organization isn’t diverse, even if they all are people of color. For example if a mosque board and executive leadership is all South Asian, upper class, highly educated Muslim men, it is not diverse by virtue of being led by men of color. Rather, the mosque have replicated the same system of exclusion that predominantly white led organizations have. Representation matters, not only to communicate that the organization is committed to inclusion, but also to model what it means to equitably distribute power.

Managing Conflict

Center marginalized voices always, but especially during conflict. Often, conflict on team occurs when there is a power differential. In this moment, it becomes even more crucial to notice if there is a pattern of who is typically heard and who is not. If there is a power differential, center the voice(s) with less power because they are exercising courage by speaking up, and often their experience of how power is showing up in the team can be very insightful to leadership trying to manage conflict between team members. Centering voice(s) does not always mean giving in or doing as they say, but rather, ensuring that the concerns brought up have been heard, considered, and inform how to move forward together in partnership.
Utilize exit interviews. When staff, board or volunteers, leave, it is critical for organizations to do their due diligence and do an exit interview to understand their reasons for leaving and ensure that it was not due to a culture of marginalization or oppression.
Notice turnover patterns. If you are on the board or leadership of an organization and are noticing that there is a pattern in turnover: women, people of color, LGBTQ+ folks are leaving and sending in their resignation, challenge your management and do your due diligence to see if there is a pattern in the reasons why. Chances are, there are.

Building diverse, representative and inclusive organizations and teams is hard; and yet the need for this shift is becoming increasingly evident as our social justice movements become more intersectional. Ensuring representation on your team is just the first step toward authentic inclusion; what follows after is a necessary internal assessment of your organization. Understanding how decisions are made, power is distributed, who is trusted with certain projects and roles, and the unique needs of your team members is important insight for leadership looking to build a culture that moves beyond tokenization to one that fosters authentic inclusion.

Resources:

White Supremacy Culture

Center for Community Organizations White Supremacy Culture Handbook

Race to Lead

Supporting Caregivers in Workplaces: A Guide

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures: Working, Caregiving, and Surviving the Global Pandemic

Challenging White Dominant Culture: A Look in the Mirror

The Problem of the Woman of Color in Nonprofits