April 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25

" isn't that bad " or, worse yet, don't
believe there is a problem at all.
Second, it gives your organization
insight into where you are thriving
and where you have areas of opportunity.
As a bonus, it allows you
to compare growth year to year as
you reassess your organization.
3
Establish shared language. We
can't solve a problem we don't
understand. We are all going to be
at different places in terms of this
work. Where we are is not an indication
of our character or values,
but simply the manifestation of
what information we have been exposed
to. In light of numerous bans
on books and literature that tell the
truth about our nation's
history
and help make sense of how the
societal inequities we are working
to solve came to be, I fear the collective
societal knowledge base will
continue to decline, leaving future
colleagues even more ill-informed
about race than their predecessors.
This casts an additional burden on
organizations and agencies to provide
education to their staff that
will support their ability to contribute
to a workplace culture where
all can thrive.
Align to values and mission.
Another common pushback
I hear from environmental
organizations (conservation entities
specifically) is the mindset that: " We
are a conservation organization,
not a social justice program. " To
that, my reply is: " Yes, and you
are also not an EMT [emergency
medical technician] organization,
but do you not require your field
staff to secure training in first aid
and CPR? " Anti-bias and antioppression
education
is no
different. If done well, it provides
us with information to help us
manage our mindsets and behaviors
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | APRIL 2 0 22 | Parks & Recreation
25
4
and contribute positively to culture.
Fail forward. Comb
(tinyurl.com/3mxu54dr).
5
your
organizational practices for
attributes of white supremacy
culture
Perfectionism, false sense of urgency,
worship of the written word and
many other characteristics tend to
infect many of our organizations,
and none of us are absolved. We
must question what we
to fellow attendees: " If you are on
a journey of becoming anti-racist/
anti-biased and don't look back on
things you have said and thought
months prior and cringe, you
haven't grown. "
The
line
between
offering
think
we know about professionalism,
relationship with time, etc. If you
are more concerned with looking like
a good person rather than actually
helping
to
create an environment
that fosters justice and belonging for
marginalized people, you are not
doing the work.
A participant in one of my
workshops recently offered this
inconvenient albeit helpful thought
ourselves grace while holding
ourselves accountable is thin,
but not invisible. While systemic
racism impacts all corners of our
society, we must not forget that
people create systems and in order
to change the inequitable systems
we see, we must change the people
who uphold these inequitable
systems, regardless of whether
they are doing so consciously or
unconsciously.
August M. Ball is Founder of Cream City Conservation
(august@creamcityconservation.org).
http://www.tinyurl.com/3mxu54dr
April 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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