End White Supremacy
White supremacy is the system that upholds structural racism.
Structural racism can be seen in disproportionate rates of incarceration and high school graduation, unequal pay, hate crimes, Hollywood images of people of color as villains in fictitious narratives ... not to mention those website pages of medium and large companies where the images of leaders are 90% white men.
Structural racism is not a Black-white issue, though - it involves so many other communities, including immigrants, Native Americans, Latinx people, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, biracial people, and people from the Middle East.
The truth is, white supremacy also goes hand-in-hand with other power structures: patriarchal systems, and those that view able-bodied and neurotypical people as better than those who live with any type of disability or different abilities.
White supremacy is, really, just a mean-spirited way to continue our current power structures.
Chantilly Mediation and Facilitation (CM+F) calls on every person of conscience to speak up about white supremacy and work to end racism of all kinds. We envision a world of justice, of equal responsibility and rights across all communities, where everyone truly has the ability to find a workplace that fulfills them - not one where they have to fit into the old-time stereotype of being a “professional” (read: white man with no emotions who has kids someone else looks after).
CM+F is a one-woman show (at least currently), and that woman is white. Like many white Americans, I live in a bubble of privilege and cannot fully understand the experiences of people who are Black, Asian, Indigenous, Latinx, or otherwise identify as people of color.
As a white person, I also have a responsibility to do my part dismantling white supremacy.
I am committed to making Chantilly Mediation and Facilitation an antiracist organization.
In part, this page is an open invitation to be called out: I know I can do better, and I welcome being told when I fail - I commit to responding graciously and responsibly, and not with excuses and defensiveness. Seriously - if you see me do something racist/stupid, please tell me.
Secondly, this is a commitment to referring to real diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) specialists for my clients (and anyone else who asks!). Part of making CM+F an organization that does its part in the fight to end white supremacy is understanding that DE&I work cannot be replaced with empathy and emotional intelligence trainings. Are you a DE&I specialist who also identifies as a Black, Asian, Indigenous, Latinx, or other person of color? Let’s connect!
Finally, this is a space to give you a bit more information about how CM+F is striving to be an antiracist organization:
- By balancing both accuracy and inclusion in marketing materials, and avoiding appropriation of images of Black, Asian, Indigenous, and Latinx people.
- By being committed to helping communities in which I’m active to deepen their understanding of racism and to choose inclusive practices.
- By noticing racial dynamics in client interactions and recommending clients work with DE&I experts when appropriate. (Given the state of the world, it is VERY OFTEN an appropriate suggestion.)
- By talking openly about race whenever I have the opportunity to do so, because white people’s silence about race only perpetuates the systems that oppress Black people.
- By calling out associates and clients who make racist or sexist comments, even when they are “only joking.”
- By openly and graciously accepting being called out whenever my actions are racist.
Some of you may be wondering why an expert in happiness at work cares so much about ending white supremacy. When you hire CM+F, you hire me, Gina D’Andrea Weatherup.
Here’s what I believe:
- kindness, happiness, and empathy can change the world;
- that these nouns represent hard work, not easy choices, and that choices are often constrained by factors like race, ethnicity, gender, income, and sexuality;
- that people who are white, like me, have an extra responsibility to make America, and the world, less racist.
Thanks for reading. Now let's get to work.
