The Anti-Racist Organization. Shereen Daniels
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Daniels, Shereen, author.
Title: The anti‐racist organization : dismantling systemic racism in the workplace / Shereen Daniels.
Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & sons, Inc., 2022. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021059123 (print) | LCCN 2021059124 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119880622 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119880646 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119880639 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Racism in the workplace—United States. | Discrimination in employment—United States. | Diversity in the workplace—United States. | United States—Race relations.
Classification: LCC HF5549.5.R23 D36 2022 (print) | LCC HF5549.5.R23 (ebook) | DDC 658.30089/00973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021059123
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021059124
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Yevhenii Orlov/Getty Images
To
Black colleagues in every shape and size of organization.
You are not broken.
You don't need fixing.
You matter.
I dedicate this book to you.
Preface
Dismantling racism isn't about who's perfect. It isn't about who's nailed it. It isn't about who's getting public accolades.
It's about who's got the moral courage to do some introspective reflection, and then go, ‘You know what, this isn't right. This is not good enough and we're going to be part of the solution.'
Shereen Daniels
How to Read This Book
Read any traditional marketing ‘bible’ or listen to the advice of seasoned sales professionals and they will all tell you the same thing. When writing a book, particularly a business one, aim to solve the problems of your readers. Make sure you speak their language.
You must resonate with them.
You should make them feel like every word you write is aimed personally at them and that you, and you alone, hold the key to their solving their problems.
Position yourself as the expert.
Reinforce your credibility.
Centre them and their needs.
Always.
When some contacts in my network knew I was writing this book, they had some words of advice along similar lines but specific to the subject matter:
Be careful you don't take things too far in what you write about. You don't want to alienate potential customers.
You have to know how to play the game and meet people where they are.
White people are tired of having racism shoved down their throats. We didn't create these problems.
The problem is that change takes time. You need to be more patient and ease people into this rather than hitting them over the head.
Don't forget to focus on the good work that organizations have done. It's not all bad news. Could you highlight that in your book, do you think?
Maybe you're someone who has said or thought something akin to these ideas, in relation to this subject matter in other contexts.
The Anti‐Racist Organization isn't a book that panders to whiteness or seeks to make the subject palatable for decision makers. It isn't one that gently cajoles leaders into action, creating a smooth, risk‐free path to racial equity. Nor does it seek to convince anyone that racism is a ‘thing’ and why you should care enough to do differently.
We are beyond this now.
Prioritising the comfort of white leaders is partly why organizations are still microcosms of racism and discrimination. Through ignorance, fear and a lack of addressing the root causes, we have continued to uphold and preserve environments that work for the white majority yet are harmful to Black colleagues.
We cannot disrupt and dismantle what we seek to change if we retreat at the first signs of discomfort, whether that's within ourselves or in our teams.
As someone who is personally impacted by the very topic I advise on, I am no longer motivated by the need to be accepted by the majority, by the demand to maintain the status quo or by the desire to avoid disrupting the apple cart.
I, and millions of people like me, have done that. It has gotten us nowhere. Because here we are, still missing from many corridors of power and still building business cases to dismantle systemic racism.
What to Expect
Each chapter is a quick read that, although light in words, contains considerable content that will prompt questions to which you thought you knew all the answers. You are unlikely to see the world in quite the same way again. You are likely to flinch at times, and that's okay. It's to be expected.
Whilst this book is addressed to you, I'm centring your Black colleagues and the issues at hand that uniquely impact on their experiences in the workplace:
Racism.
Not diversity.
Not inclusion.
Not belonging.
Specifics matter, and it's important we hold the line to ensure that when we are talking about systemic racism, we don't bend and weave with the language we use.
I am compassionate and empathetic in my ongoing challenges to you, because – if you join me – we are walking the same path: using curiosity and introspection to advance racial equity, challenging the deeply held beliefs and values about who we are, what is the leadership legacy we want to leave behind and examining our personal relationship with race and racism.
Detractors believe that to consistently talk about racism, how it shows up, what we should do differently is to stoke fires of division. That it's anti‐white, not professional, inhumane.
I disagree.
Creating environments that mirror the unequal, inequitable aspects of society is inhumane.
Ignoring the lived experiences of colleagues because they are a minority in your organization