2020 — An Anti Racism Pledge
/I am deeply opposed to spiritual bypassing. Spiritual bypassing is a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks." The term was introduced in the early 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist. [Source link] Spiritual bypassing happens a lot when people talk about racism. This is understandable (talking about racism is hard for many) but not acceptable. This is not to say being spiritual is the problem -- the problem is using “spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks."
Simply focusing on the positive is not helpful to those in pain. Avoiding our feelings is detrimental to our mental and physical health. Reframing, something I do often as a leader of this small business community, is great, but you won’t catch me saying “it all happens for a reason” just to calm someone down. Reframing is a technique used to shift how you look at a situation, often to help you take action or feel better. Telling someone “it all happens for a reason” when talking about racism, is minimizing and dismissive. Constant fight or flight in these last 4-6 months of unknown shouldn’t be met with “if you just meditated more, you’d feel better.”
I say all of the above because who knows what is about to come (have we ever?) which can be daunting and exciting. For example, I want to sit nose-to-nose with friends and family and I also like having the whole neighborhood home on a Friday night like it’s summer camp. The public awareness of racism’s toll on our friends of color is heartbreaking, but there’s also excitement when I realize that we’ve awoken! We’ve been shaken! The truth is out there and it is REAL!
This moment, The Great Reboot, is very good for some and truly terrifying and life-changing for many. Our eyes are wide open. Our privilege, systematic and systemic (there is a difference) inequalities are at the forefront, and each human’s vulnerability showcased.
Let’s talk about racism
More than a few frustrations have come along with this rollercoaster. People were/are shocked about Racism’s role in our society -- SHOCKED ABOUT RACISM!? Frankly, I’m shocked that you’re shocked. Maybe it’s because I grew up in LA and have spent my adulthood in Oakland - both diverse communities that have worn police brutality and the oppression of gentrification (to name just two of many of issues) on it’s sleeve for decades. I was less than a mile from the LA Riots. I lived just a few miles from where Oscar Grant was killed point blank on a Bart train platform. Grant’s murder in particular was my awakening. I truly realized that I was safer in this world because of the color of my skin. How unfair and cruel that fact was and continues to be.
This time, watching the video police officer murder a man by kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes and a woman murdered while sleeping in her bed, elicited juxtaposed emotions I wasn’t prepared to reconcile. Rage and apathy. That pairing has deeply shaken me. Apathy passed, raged turned to action.
There are no excuses now. Racism cannot be ignored because it is an active participant in our society. It needs to be understood and obliterated. Racism needs our attention, education, and consistent reality checks to move us away from its grasp and into a new reality of inclusion and equality. It is our collective responsibility to dismantle racism by using and sharing the various privileges we have in life.
Where do I fit into the system?
Starting my own business was scary, but I leapt not because of my brilliant idea but because I knew that there was a safety net for me when taking the risk to go out on my own. I had the education to go get a job that would get me back on my feet. I knew I could ask for a few hundred dollars here and there and receive 10x what I asked for because my family could. These were only two of the many options - privileges - that released me into the great world of “entrepreneurship.” I am very proud of the way that I have grown, deflated, and re-booted my business over and over again. I’ve said it in podcasts for years and was (mostly) alone in the conversation of privilege and my desire to provide opportunities to those who have not been afforded the same types of safety nets.
When I started working with businesses and then transitioned my work to live under Anchor & Orbit’s name, I never wanted to go back to the corporate world. My line, “I want to use my powers for good, not evil” meant one thing at the time and means even more today. I have a knack for reaching people, understanding how to communicate effectively and, frankly, make other people money. I wanted control over who I was helping and sadly, that meant that I needed to be completely independent. The business owners I work with share this value.
“Sometime in the future”
I imagined myself on a board of directors or volunteering when x happened or when z happened or when y … that’s where I was deeply incorrect. Waiting is part of the problem; the time to make a difference is always the present (the crux of the issue for most businesses/people in my orbit) I feel confident in the impact I’ve made for my clients. I know that the work I have done has been an important part of the economy — local and global. I know I’ve helped people’s dreams become realities. I know that I learn something new every day and I am valued for that. But there’s something I am missing.
Reaching more people who need my help is always the goal. Not just for my own bottom line, but I do believe that everyone benefits from the work I do with them and their businesses. Most of my clients are women — a very important minority! 95% of my clients are female identifying and I’d say 30% of those women are people of color and no more than 10% of the hundreds of women I have worked with have been Black. The ratios of queer and trans people doesn’t seem appropriate to list, but these are also communities that have not turned to me, or simply haven’t known of my work. Is it the marketing algorithm's fault? My networking (digital & IRL) groups? Or (understandably) that the women of color, trans and black women are looking to their own peers and mentors for guidance? Or is it about affordability?
Those who have latched on to any moment in time, whether it's “pivoting during COVID'' or Black Live Matter, as a business opportunity has really rubbed me the wrong way. I believe that in order to advise, you need a lot of information. Churning out a content & guidance without truly being an expert in, lets say, crisis management in a pandemic, is unethical. Luckily, the study of racism and the black experience in America (and around the world) already have experts. I have turned to those experts through established podcasts, educators and books to guide me through the new era of anti-racism.
My programs have been written by me, someone who has for years actively learned about and focuses on inclusion, intersectionality and anti-racism. Part of this effort to the act of being open to feedback & inquiry with/from my peers and clients of the BIPOC & LGBTQ community when something is said or done, either by me or in my community, that is racist, exclusionary and cliquey. Now that this vocabulary and subsequent effort is a priority for everyone, I have renewed energy and excitement for inclusivity and anti-racism.
Overall, when any one person engages with me as a client, I equally encourage each person to prioritize themselves within their businesses. I help folks better center themselves so they can create/maintain a more sustainable business, therefore lifestyle.
So? What’s new, then?
I attended and enjoyed Rachel Rodgers’ Small Business Town Hall. And her anti-racist pledge is very powerful. You can find the recording & the pledge here. What I learned from that session was that Anchor & Orbit should and can commit a portion of its profits to organizations that need the support. I took it a little farther, inspired by one of the organizers, Eric Hines’ anecdote about a client of her’s integrating their anti-racist statement in their client contracts.
So, We pledge to do is the following —
Donate a portion of Anchor & Orbit’s revenue to a local organization yet to be chosen (we feel strongly about supporting east bay’s indigenous tribe, the Ohlone, and helping youth of color start their own businesses)
Volunteer time to help business owners who need my guidance but cannot afford it
Offer sliding scale pricing for BIPOC & LGBTQ business owners for the Business Foundations Program
Include an anti-racist statement in our contract stating that any racist conversations will not be tolerated
The contract also states that my clients will include charitable contributions and anti-racism education in their budgets
This isn’t the end of the conversation. This is a conversation. What else would you like to see come from Anchor & Orbit and myself?
Sarah@anchorandorbit.com
