Kyra Bonta & Katia Maciolek at a student protest.

Last week, I woke up to my wife, who is black, sitting on the living room couch. She had trouble sleeping—not a rare occurrence, but this time was different. With streaks of dried tears, fading into her cheeks, she told me that she was simply “sad.” She was up for hours reeling from the recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by cops and Ahmaud Arbery by white racist vigilantes. Compounding her grieving were the stories of the “Central Park Karen’s” intentional weaponizing of racism towards black birder, Christian Cooper, the disproportionately high rates of black people dying from Covid-19, and the cops’ repeated violence towards black protesters. The weight and trauma became unbearable. Micia was suffocating from the unjust and oppressive systems that repeatedly treats her and her people as less than and tells them that they are unworthy and expendable. My heart broke. I had never seen Micia like this. While these stories were nothing new to her, she’d had enough. She could no longer suppress the emotions, and something had to change.

I know Micia’s story (or some variation) has been typical for our black brothers and sisters all across the nation during this time, and I am grieving in solidarity with them. However, for all the anger, rage, frustration, and sadness I am feeling as a non-black person of color, it is nothing compared to what Micia and other black people are going through right now and forced to go through daily.  

After holding Micia and being present with her and her pain, I asked how I could be most helpful. How could I use my experience and influence to support her in the moment? At Micia’s request, we co-created approaches and responses to advise her many white friends who have reached out with love and support and are seeking to take action to advance racial equity.

You have probably seen the many lists of resources and actions for white people being shared on social media. Where to start and what to do can be overwhelming and confusing. This blog post complements those lists—to provide insight on making your racial equity actions and growing ally-ship impactful and effective. Focusing on the why and how of your racial equity actions and overall journey will build a stable foundation from which to grow, take clear, strategic action, and achieve positive impact.

The following guidelines are not the end-all, be-all approaches that will guarantee efficacy, but they are foundational to help you get there. In the end, your degree of impact depends on you and your transformation. While most guideline content is tailored for white people at the beginning or middle stages of their racial equity journey, the guidelines may serve to re-ground change agents (white and BIPOC) as they continue to push for change.

6 Guidelines that Will Lead to Higher Impact Racial Equity Actions

1) Ask Yourself Why

Asking yourself why is a critical first step. Jumping straight to action without understanding “why and how” often leads to mistakes and ineffectiveness in racial equity work.

Ask, “why do I feel compelled to take action right now?” Repeat this question five times, forcing yourself to dig deeper each time. You have many daily choices on how to spend your time, and you are choosing this racial equity work now. Something deep inside is driving you. Explore where that is coming from and give voice to it. Write down your answers and re-visit them often. Messy or uncertain thoughts are okay. That will change over time. Your why will serve as your North Star—a place where you can recalibrate and re-ground yourself, especially when the work becomes really challenging—as you continue your racial equity journey.

(If you want to take a step further, ask, “why is racial equity important to me?” Then repeat the steps above.)

A word of caution: Be honest with yourself: if an answer was “to make myself feel better or more comfortable,” think carefully about what this means. For white people, this work is not about self-comfort, as explained in the Immerse in the Discomfort guideline below.

2) Center the Needs, Values, Voice, and Leadership of Black People

Centering black people may seem obvious, but I need to say it because white power and privilege run deep. Don’t rely on yourself to know or assume what black people want or need at this moment. A common mistake for white people, often white liberals, is to think they know what’s best for black people and to make critical decisions (large or small) that impact the black community, at times with damaging consequences. For example, an all-white leadership team decides what is best for their black and people of color staff. Or an all-white foundation staff decides what to fund and how much to fund when supporting the black community or, even worse, funds white-led organizations that are unintentionally or intentionally harming the black community. This white-centric approach is white privilege in practice and only causes more problems.

Properly centering black people will most likely lead to positive impact, yet how to do it effectively is challenging. The black community is directly impacted by systemic racism, so they are the best and only ones who can identify the most effective solutions that will benefit their community. Your job is to listen deeply to and follow the lead of black people and respond and support in solidarity. Support the advancement of their causes and goals as defined by the black community for the black community.  

One way to center blackness is to reach out to your black friends (including close work colleagues) that you are close to and listen to their needs and priorities. BUT before you do so, ask yourself why you are reaching out. If it’s about you and making yourself feel better, don’t make contact. You are centering whiteness. If your black friend is an acquaintance, please don’t bother them. A thousand white people are trying to contact them right now. However, if you have a close relationship that includes mutual support and generosity with a black friend, reach out with empathy, curiosity, and humility. As you do, be gentle, sensitive, and understanding. Most black people are feeling raw right now. Remember, you reaching out is about them, not you. Understand that they may feel overburdened, overtaxed, overwhelmed, and feeling many emotions right now. Tell them you love them and are thinking about them. (If you are fearful of saying that you love them, then you may not have a deep enough relationship, so don’t reach out to them). Ask if it’s an okay time to talk. And if your black friend says they don’t want to talk, then leave them alone. Don’t be offended. Remember, this is about them, not you.

If they want to talk, ask questions with love, empathy, and compassion. Listen deeply. Talk little. Ask what you can do and do it. (Following through on recommended actions communicates you care deeply. Not following through may break trust and send the message that your friend and the black community are not important.)

If you don’t have any black friends that fit the criteria above, then go back to the first guideline and ask yourself “why” five times, then return here to explore other ways to understand the needs, challenges and priorities of the black community:

• Reading, watching, attending, and listening to anything developed by black people, such as books, articles, films, events, or speeches. Learning about the priorities and values of black-led organizations that serve the black community. Reading online content from these organizations, subscribing to email lists, talking to representatives, and attending events.

• Hiring a black racial equity consultant. Arguably, the best sources right now are black people who draw from both their lived and professional experiences to advance racial equity.

• Attending racial equity trainings

• Communicating with non-black people who are well versed in racial equity and are trusted by black people

A Word of Caution: Don’t expect black people to teach you. This practice actually centers whiteness and takes an emotional toll on the black person, potentially causing additional trauma or re-living past traumas. On the other hand, some black individuals don’t mind teaching (like Micia). Discover which of your friends are okay with this role. Lastly, some black people teach, train, coach, or consult professionally, so pay them and don’t extract free advice. You act like a white colonizer when you steal their knowledge.

3) Do it with Love

Numerous activists, such as MLK, Gandhi, and Jesus, embodied and spoke of love in their approaches. In 1 Corinthians 8 of the Bible, Paul states, “Love never fails,” which has been true in my racial equity work. When I have intentionally actualized love, I have been 100% effective—even when there have been temporary setbacks. These loving moments have led to many breakthroughs. We need a breakthrough moment right now, and we need your loving action for us to achieve it. Love in racial equity work is about seeing others, putting another’s needs above yourself, asking for forgiveness, forgiving those who hurt you, deep listening, and being empathetic, vulnerable, patient, kind, humble, generous, grateful, and soft-hearted.

Love pretty much guarantees success, but you must work at it. Heart work is hard work. Love is both an emotion and an action. As an action, love is about loving the receiver the way they desire to feel loved. I have had a huge learning curve on this approach in my marriage with the 5 Love Languages. In short, my love languages are not the ways Micia feels loved. To show my love, I need to spend quality time with her and provide acts of service (i.e., attack the honey-do-list). Since these loving actions do not come naturally to me, I need to work at them constantly. 

You may think that stepping up for the black community at this time is in itself an act of love. However, there are nuances in how love may be manifested in actions that will lead to positive impact on the black community. For example, white people protesting in solidarity with black protesters is an act of love. It is a beautiful sight to see. However, white rioters who destroy property when black organizers ask them to stop is not loving and actually creates more problems for the black community who often receive backlash first and worst. Similarly, talking over a black person to defend them from an insensitive statement without their consent is not loving either. However, asking the black person with kindness, patience, and humility how you can best support them, following through on the recommendations, and checking back in is loving.    

4) Immerse Yourself in Discomfort

Being uncomfortable in racial equity work means you are pushing into your growth edge and approaching the apex of your capability. If you are not feeling discomfort, then you are not doing enough. Discomfort is a good sign. It means you’re growing. A while back, during a J.E.D.I. training that I was leading, a white participant shared her goal—to be constantly uncomfortable for the entire four days, so she can learn and grow as much as possible. This experience jumpstarted her journey, and today, she has evolved into a strong white ally, continually making change in her sphere of influence.

On the other hand, while comfort could mean you are not doing enough, it could also mean you are protecting your white bubble of power and privilege, avoiding the real work and tough conversations about systemic racism and white guilt, fragility, and privilege. Be wary of remaining, slipping back into, or even protecting this state of complacency, which has had profound adverse effects on the black community. Rabbi Abraham Heschel, a civil rights activist, once said, “the opposite of good is not evil, the opposite of good is indifference.” 

Being uncomfortable is also the least you can do to be in solidarity with black people. Because black people can’t avoid racism, they are constantly uncomfortable and stressed. Even if they wish to avoid and not think about racism, something will happen in their daily life that will tell them they are less than, such as being turned down for a job because they don’t “fit,” having to take extra precautions when driving, birding, or [insert activity] while black, or hearing about another black person being murdered by cops. These daily and constant traumas of racism are not only bad for their health; they are literally killing black people. Racism leads to increased cortisol levels that do not lower at night time (like their white counterparts), which leads to numerous health disparities, such as higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, infant mortality, and child asthma deaths than white people. 

How can you stretch yourself to the point of discomfort in your racial equity work? Are you watching or reading material that is making you uncomfortable? Are you donating to black-led organizations to the point of feeling uneasy about the amount of money you gave? Are you constantly engaging in uncomfortable conversations? Are you uncomfortable admitting your implicit biases? Are you uncomfortable extending your love to the black community? Are you doing the uncomfortable and necessary work to achieve broad-scale change in your organization?

5) Commit to Personal Growth

Ongoing learning and personal development are necessary to achieve and grow your impact on a broader scale. To transform society, you must focus on transforming yourself. Mahatma Gandhi stated, “[o]ur greatest ability as humans is not to change the world; but to change ourselves.” The beautiful and empowering aspect of personal work is that you can decide to grow, learn, and change at any moment. You don’t have to wait for external factors. All you need is a conscious effort right now. 

The most transformative moment in my racial equity work was attending a two-day dismantling racism training 15 years ago. The experience provided the real history of the U.S. that I never received in my schooling. I learned about institutional and systemic racism, how we are socialized to reinforce it, and our complicity (by simply not doing anything) in supporting racially oppressive systems. This uncomfortable and emotional experience shifted the very notion of how I understood the world and crystallized my racial equity lens. I saw systemic racism and its detrimental effects everywhere—in places and ways I just could not see before attending the training. The experience shaped my career trajectory and provided a strong foundation for my growth and increasing impact on the environmental movement.

During this time, many terms and ideas in the world of racial equity are being discussed, such as “diversity” and individual acts of racism, and you may feel overwhelmed by content overload. I strongly recommend focusing your personal growth on systemic racism since it’s a root cause of society’s racial problems. Learning how to identify and dismantle it and about your role in reinforcing and protecting it through white power, privilege, and fragility will go a long way toward advancing racial equity.

As you grow, think about the steps you may take. One way I support my clients is utilizing the following stages of development, in which you can self-identify and focus your work. (Your progress may be linear at first then circular, especially as you advance past the Gain Knowledge stage.):

As you can see, reading a book, while necessary for your development, will never be enough. What stage do you need to focus your work on right now? Do you need to increase your knowledge base by watching documentaries and attending trainings? Is it the right time to build skills, such as effectively communicating across differences and developing inclusive teams? Do you need to create consistent behaviors and habits, so racial equity work becomes second nature? Focus on one area for now and make a plan for your growth and development.

Words of caution:  You will never be perfect at racial equity work (period). Do not allow perfectionism to paralyze you. 

Stagnation is a common trait of problematic white people (often white liberals and self-proclaimed white allies). These white people believe their current understanding of race and racism and/or liberal values are sufficient. However, they are often stuck in the Raise Awareness or Gain Knowledge stages and have not built adequate skills, behaviors, and approaches to be effective change agents and white allies. They are not growing and often show no or minimal effort to do so. These white people often take up space, consciously, or subconsciously, utilizing their white power and privilege to block people of color and change agents from engaging in and more effectively advancing critical racial equity work. For example, this harmful trait is common in white executive directors and CEOs who often are not the most racially competent at their organization. Yet, they control in subtle or overt ways the direction of the organization’s racial equity work. They prevent the organization’s change agents from fully immersing in racial equity work, and in the end, the organization and people of color suffer.

6) Play the Long Game 

Systems and institutions that protect, reinforce, and spread racism have been created and re-created since our nation’s founding and remain deeply ingrained in our culture and collective psyche. The work to dismantle all these racist systems and rebuild and maintain racially equitable systems is forever-work. If we each do our part over the long haul, we can make huge leaps towards racial equity.

Therefore, one-off actions, like reading a book or a one-time donation to Black Lives Matter, could be helpful but are grossly insufficient. All are important steps in your journey, but the real, impactful work occurs over time. For example, after writing this blog, I plan to check in with Micia to see what’s next, provide advice and build deeper relationships with over a dozen people who reached out to me, and strategize with a group of change agents in the environmental movement (defund mainstream environmentalism? Just sayin’). All this work is unpaid, but necessary, to advance racial equity in the way I can contribute.

Racial equity work is not a 100-yard sprint but an ultra-marathon, mostly up-hill. (This New Yorker cartoon humorously depicts the road ahead.) Your job is to build your stamina and strength and strip off the unnecessary weight. Focus on the process. The process is where growth and progress occur and results in more impactful outcomes. The process is the work.

As you continue on your journey, be kind and patient with yourself. Integrate self-care, so you don’t burn out. We need you for the long-haul. The more enduring and strong hands we have, the easier it will be to push the boulder of justice and equity up the mountain of systemic racism.

“We Shall Overcome”

I have intentionally been doing racial equity work for 20  years—47 years if you count my lifetime experience encountering racism. It’s been the most challenging, emotional, and rewarding work of my life. During this work, I have experienced some of the worst and some of the most beautiful moments of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world because, especially during this time, I can fully love the most important person in my life the way she needs to be loved. Waking up to Micia in her sadness and grief was one of the toughest moments of my life, and I am so grateful to her for letting me in and allowing me to swim in the messiness with her. It is in these times of deep sadness that deep love lives (and can grow). Our nation is currently experiencing a collective deep sadness, which doesn’t happen often. Search for the collective deep love. It lives. Uphold it, embody it, and put it into action. MLK once said, “[h]ate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Stay vigilant and intentional with love, and, as has been sung for centuries, from slaves to civil rights activists, “we shall overcome.”

Which guideline resonates most with you? Why? What are you inspired to do next? Why do you feel compelled to take action right now?

Appendix

These are the knowledge-building activities that Micia and I have recommended the most, during the past few weeks:

• Watch 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay (available on Netflix)

• Watch Race: The Power of an Illusion 

• Attend a two-day racial equity training (This is a must-do if you are serious about racial equity work. Racial Equity Institute is an incredible black-led organization that provides these transformative trainings.)

• Read White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism by Robin D’Angelo

I am offering pro bono, 30-minute coaching sessions for people working in the environmental movement. Specifically, if you are a funder, staff leader, person of color, and/or J.E.D.I. point person, seeking advice, email me at marcelo@jediheart.com.

A special thank you to Micia Bonta, Sean Watts, and Mychal Tetteh who provided critical input and guidance for this blog post.

Hi Everyone, I am incredibly excited to share my newly released report, Transforming a Movement: How foundations can support effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) capacity building efforts in environmental organizations. I can’t wait for you to read it! A huge thank you to all who contributed. The report provides a guide to how funders and others (especially staff involved in building DEI capacity) can support and advance effective DEI efforts in the environmental movement. Here is the beginning of the Executive Summary, which provides a concise overview:

A growing number of environmental organizations and foundations are investing more time, money, and energy in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) capacity building activities than ever before. They are realizing that DEI enhances their mission, creates a higher-performing organization, provides them relevance in a rapidly changing world, and leads to deeper relationships and more successful work with the staunchest supporters of environmental protection—people of color (Fery et al. 2018, Metz and Weigel 2009, and many others). Often these organizations (and the funders who support them) view their launch of DEI capacity building efforts as a success in and of itself, without asking if these efforts are effective.

This report provides a guide to how funders and others can support and advance effective DEI efforts in the environmental movement. It analyzes how seven funders are supporting DEI capacity building and how 43 staff of color and 24 DEI point people (staff who have a core role in coordinating, managing, and leading DEI capacity building efforts) view and experience different DEI capacity building approaches within their organizations. Our research revealed a clear need for long-term investment of effective DEI capacity building practices that especially focus on “the how”; address and remedy root issues (such as white dominant culture and institutional racism); create an inclusive culture; and center the experiences of staff of color.

A Reading Approach

The report is pretty long and multi-layered and includes A LOT of information to digest. As some early readers advised, take your time to read and absorb the many concepts, themes, findings, insights, and recommendations. Reading sequentially from page 1 to 125 may not be the most effective approach for everyone; therefore, I provide a few suggestions below to help direct your reading:

1.  Read the Executive Summary (pp. i-vii).  

2.  Next, read the Staff of Color section (pp. 12-49) since staff of color experiences are the barometers for effective racial and ethnic DEI capacity building approaches and are too often overlooked. Acquiring a deep understanding of this section and a proficient aptitude in implementing its concepts and recommendations are mandatory for effective DEI capacity building efforts. Start with the Introduction (pp. 12-13), Metathemes (pp. 14-15), Insights for Funders (pp. 45-48), and the following themes: White Dominant Culture (pp. 16-18), Culture Change (pp. 19-24), The Staff of Color Experience (pp. 37-38), and People of Color Support (pp. 39-40).

3. I broke up the third step based on your role:

• Funders: Read the Environmental Funders section (pp. 7-11), Staff of Color Insights for Funders (pp. 45-48), DEI Point People Insights for Funders (pp. 76-78), and Recommendations for Funders (pp. 80-86).

• Staff of Color: In addition to the Staff of Color section, read the Recommendations for Staff of Color (p. 87).

• DEI point people (staff guiding and directing organizational DEI capacity building efforts): Read the DEI Point People section (pp. 50-79). As you read it, start with the Introduction (p. 50), Insights for Funders (pp. 76-78), Metatheme (p. 52), and the following themes: The How (pp. 57-59), Culture Change (pp. 55-56), Emotional Intelligence (pp. 60-61), and Growth Mindset (pp. 62-63). Also, read Recommendations for DEI Point People (pp. 87-88) and re-read the Staff of Color section (pp. 12-49) since it’s critical to success.

• Staff leaders: Read Recommendations for Staff Leaders, Especially Executive Directors and Presidents (p. 89) and the following metathemes and themes: The Leaders’ Influence (pp. 41-44), Leadership Support & Commitment (p. 64), The How (pp. 15, 57-59), Transformation (p. 15), White Dominant Culture (pp. 16-18), Culture Change (pp. 19-24, 55-56), Ignorant Resistance and Lack of Priority (pp. 26-28, 65-67), Mission Enhancement (pp. 68-69), and Growth Mindset (pp. 62-63). Lastly, Read Report Recommendations 9-14 (pp. 82-85).

• Staff thinking of starting or about to launch an organizational DEI capacity building effort: Recommendations for DEI Point People (pp. 87-88), Recommendations for Staff Leaders (p. 89), and the following metathemes and themes: The How (pp. 15, 57-59), DEI Beginners (pp. 14, 52), Transformation (p. 15), White Dominant Culture (pp. 16-18), Culture Change (pp. 19-24, 55-56), Ignorant Resistance and Lack of Priority (pp. 26-28, 65-67), Mission Enhancement (pp. 68-69), The Staff of Color Experience (pp. 37-38), People of Color Support (pp. 39-40), Raising Awareness & Commitment (pp. 53-54), and Increasing Diversity: A Complementary Role (p. 75). 

• DEI consultants: Read the Staff of Color Insights for Funders (pp. 45-48), DEI Point People Insights for Funders (pp. 76-78), Recommendations for Funders (pp. 80-86), and Recommendations for Staff of Color, DEI Point People, & Staff Leaders (pp. 87-89) sections. Also read the following metathemes and themes: White Dominant Culture (pp. 16-18), Culture Change (pp. 19-24, 55-56), The How (pp. 15, 57-59), Transformation (p. 15), The Importance of Doing DEI and Doing it Effectively (pp. 30-35), Emotional Intelligence (pp. 60-61), Trainings (pp. 36, 70-71), and People and Funding (pp. 72-74).

4. Read the rest of the report.

5. As you read the report, please share your thoughts, learnings, and insights and respond to the prompting questions below. Please add any comments and questions below or reach out to me directly at marcelo@jediheart.com. Thank you!

Please let me know if you would like me to share the findings with funder groups, organizational J.E.D.I. committees, people of color affinity and support groups, organizational leaders, or anyone else interested in learning more.

Again, thank you to everyone who contributed to the report. The final product is a reflection of your honesty, truth, and love for an environmental movement that effectively achieves its mission. I can’t wait for what comes next.

What do you think of the report?

As you read it, what resonated with you? What were you curious to know more about? What did you learn that challenges your current assumptions and worldview? What did you read that reinforces your current assumptions and worldview?

A growing number of environmental organizations and foundations are investing more time, money, and energy in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) capacity building activities than ever before. They are realizing that DEI enhances their mission, creates a higher-performing organization, provides them relevance in a rapidly changing world, and leads to deeper relationships and more successful work with the staunchest supporters of environmental protection—people of color (Fery et al. 2018, Metz and Weigel 2009, and many others). Often these organizations (and the funders who support them) view their launch of DEI capacity building efforts as a success in and of itself, without asking if these efforts are effective.

This report provides a guide to how funders and others can support and advance effective DEI efforts in the environmental movement. It analyzes how seven funders are supporting DEI capacity building and how 43 staff of color and 24 DEI point people (staff who have a core role in coordinating, managing, and leading DEI capacity building efforts) view and experience different DEI capacity building approaches within their organizations. Our research revealed a clear need for long-term investment of effective DEI capacity building practices that especially focus on “the how”; address and remedy root issues (such as white dominant culture and institutional racism); create an inclusive culture; and center the experiences of staff of color.

Steps to J.E.D.I. Progress

Hi J.E.D.I.s, I want to sincerely apologize for not publishing any recent blog posts. I have been immersed in writing a 100-plus-page report on how funders can most effectively support J.E.D.I. capacity building in the environmental movement. The good news is that the report includes plenty of great material that will be relevant to funders and everyone involved in J.E.D.I. work. A huge thank you to all of the people who responded to the report interviews and surveys with honesty, vulnerability, and thoughtfulness. Their profound insights contributed to a robust and multi-layered report. Deep transformation is coming. Thanks to them and to you. I would like to share a few powerful quotes:

We have a lot of work to do to evolve our organizational culture—we are a very "white" office, and our leadership, myself very much included, are culturally very "white" in ways that I think make racial equity work harder, and make our workplace less welcoming for people of color. We have begun to acknowledge and grapple with that challenge, but we have a long way to go. ~ DEI point person

Most [DEI capacity building] programs instituted fail to get input or be developed by the most vulnerable or impacted in an organization. ~ Staff member of color 

DEI organizational development is a years-long process, take it one strategic step at a time. It should shake the very foundation of your organization's approach; otherwise, you're probably holding back. ~ Staff member of color

[DEI work] has to be broader and more meaningful than numbers… [We] make Inclusion the first and most important target of our efforts. Too often, numbers amount to window dressing, or even worse, “tokenism.” ~ Staff member of color 

I heard my son's preschool teacher say the other day, that there are many right ways to do something. I'm trying to embrace that. I'm behind the preschoolers... ~ DEI point person 

Currently, the report is in the design phase. While we wait for the release later this month, I want to give you all a sneak peek by sharing the executive summary. 

You’ll notice in the report that I use the acronym DEI, which was the term I used before I launched J.E.D.I. Heart this past spring. The first phase of the report research began about a year ago. Also, if you want to receive a copy of the final report make sure to subscribe to the blog email list.

Enjoy!

Transforming a Movement: How foundations can support effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) capacity building efforts in environmental organizations

Executive Summary

A growing number of environmental organizations and foundations are investing more time, money, and energy in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) capacity building activities than ever before. They are realizing that DEI enhances their mission, creates a higher-performing organization, provides them relevance in a rapidly changing world, and leads to deeper relationships and more successful work with the staunchest supporters of environmental protection—people of color (Fery et al. 2018, Metz and Weigel 2009, and many others). Often these organizations (and the funders who support them) view their launch of DEI capacity building efforts as a success in and of itself, without asking if these efforts are effective.

This report provides a guide to how funders and others can support and advance effective DEI efforts in the environmental movement. It analyzes how seven funders are supporting DEI capacity building and how 43 staff of color and 24 DEI point people (staff who have a core role in coordinating, managing, and leading DEI capacity building efforts) view and experience different DEI capacity building approaches within their organizations. Our research revealed a clear need for long-term investment of effective DEI capacity building practices that especially focus on “the how”; address and remedy root issues (such as white dominant culture and institutional racism); create an inclusive culture; and center the experiences of staff of color.

For this report, we defined DEI capacity building as: “Any effort, initiative, or activity adopted for the purpose of effectively advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the organization. These could be internal or foundational elements. Examples of DEI capacity building activities include (but are not limited to), DEI focused trainings, leadership development programs, plans/strategies, assessments, organizational statements, visioning, coaching, and committees.”

Funders are critical players in the DEI space not only because they provide needed resources, but also because they influence the direction of the environmental movement. This report draws on lessons learned and wisdom gained from staff who lead current DEI capacity building grantmaking programs in environmental philanthropy. It also shares the experiences of and insights from staff of color, those who often feel the impact of DEI efforts—positive or negative—first and most. The report explores if DEI capacity building is improving, maintaining, or worsening the experience of staff of color, and what specifically contributes to that outcome. Staff of color experiences can serve as valuable barometers for determining the effectiveness of internal racial and ethnic DEI capacity building activities. Lastly, this research includes the perspective from DEI point people—staff who are uniquely positioned to recognize the nuances of DEI challenges and opportunities since they work at the hub of DEI capacity building efforts.

Funders

The Funder section is organized around grantmaking practices of established DEI capacity building grantmaking programs—how the program is structured and designed and how these funders are supporting DEI efforts in environmental organizations. The research provides insights into how to establish effective DEI capacity building grantmaking programs; how to improve current programs; and what, whom, and how to fund. Grantmaking practices discussed include focusing on long-term change, hiring an external thought partner, building internal DEI capacity at the foundation, growing and partnering with grantees, assessing readiness for DEI work, and providing additional funding for people-of-color-led groups and justice-focused organizations working on environmental issues.

Staff of Color and DEI Point People

The research in the Staff of Color and DEI Point People sections is organized differently than the Funder section. We identify metathemes and themes—topics or issues that multiple people mentioned—that emerged through the survey responses to questions about what is and is not working well, regarding DEI capacity building efforts within their organizations. The Staff of Color section includes a special focus on their experiences. Names of survey respondents were kept confidential, which allowed for frank, unfiltered, and deeply informative responses. Illustrative quotes and other qualitative data are provided. Each section concludes with insights for funders to consider.

Metathemes and themes of significance from these sections include:

• The Staff of Color Experience: Inconsistent Inclusion & Enduring Exclusion: Our research reveals that DEI capacity building activities do not guarantee consistent positive impact for staff of color. Approximately 86% of staff of color reported experiences of being valued and supported, while at the same time—and in the same setting—experiencing marginalization and exclusion in various ways, both subtle and overt. While moments of inclusion occur, the exposure to exclusion remains. This is a serious issue, as these traumatic experiences engender deep wounds and may be root causes for staff of color leaving environmental organizations. Shifting to consistent inclusion will require DEI growth, culture change, and transformation.

• Transformation, White Dominant Culture, and Culture Change: The metatheme (Transformation) and themes (White Dominant Culture and Culture Change) are discussed together because of their interconnectedness. Staff of color and DEI point people desire deep, high-impact change work that addresses root issues (such as white dominant culture, institutional racism, and white privilege) and actively shifts to an inclusive culture of trust, support, openness, acceptance, respect, authenticity, kindness, curiosity, and vulnerability. Culture change is the essence of transformation, and addressing white dominant culture requires deep soul-searching work (both individually and organizationally). Organizations need to adopt a change management process to support this shift. In order to evolve through culture change, an organization cannot just be committed to the idea of change. It must understand how to shift from white dominant culture to an inclusive culture.

• The How: Staff of color and DEI point people reported that the quality of the staff of color experience and the effectiveness of the DEI effort are more important than the actual DEI activity. “The how” focuses on quality rather than quantity and is the essence of DEI transformation. How an organization does the work is more important than what they do. For example, DEI Point people ranked, in order, trainings, hiring, and ongoing learning activities as the most effective and, also in the same ranked order, the least effective DEI capacity building activities. The difference was in how the activities were executed. For instance, all staff trainings are effective, and trainings that do not provide tools to apply learning to action are ineffective. Staff of color addressed the importance of “the how” when they shared the ways in which successful (and not-so-successful) approaches to DEI affected their experiences and the organization’s overall DEI capacity building efforts.

• DEI Beginners:  Many of the environmental organizations and foundations featured in this report are in the early stages of DEI growth (although some may not recognize this). DEI Beginners are organizations at the early stages of DEI work regardless of the length of time they have been engaged in DEI capacity building. These early stages are often the most challenging because of the difficulty of making measurable progress amid a shift to new systems, structures, approaches, practices, and mindsets. Survey respondents describe several early-stage characteristics: resistance or defensiveness from staff and leaders; not prioritizing DEI; the need to collectively raise awareness; centering on “the what” rather than “the how”; and a workplace culture that has not yet integrated DEI behaviors and approaches. While this report features several examples of organizational growth, these DEI Beginners still struggle to have dependable resources and sufficient capacity, systems, culture, and approaches to maintain the work and consistently achieve positive DEI outcomes. The beginner stage is a necessary phase because it is during this time when organizations establish a foundation and path forward, adjust the organizational mindset, and prepare for the journey ahead. It is also a critical time to invest resources, and a critical time to ensure resources are being invested well.

The metathemes and themes led to more than 15 major insights for funders, which can be found at the end of the Staff of Color and DEI Point People sections. Noteworthy insights for funders to consider in their DEI capacity building grantmaking include:

• Support people of color networks since they are critical for staff of color to survive and thrive and foundational for all DEI work.

• Build relationships directly with staff of color and create communication pathways to receive unfiltered feedback since staff of color experiences serve as “DEI barometers.”

• Support DEI capacity building that focuses on “the how,” transformation, and culture change.

• Invest in transformational racial equity trainings for all staff and board.

• Provide opportunities for organizational leaders to develop and grow their DEI knowledge, skills, and competency that is needed to effectively lead an organization committed to DEI.

• Provide adequate and consistent resources to environmental organizations over a long time period to support the DEI change process.

• Support readiness for organizations embarking or advancing on their DEI journeys since many are in the DEI Beginner phase.

16 Recommendations for Funders

Below we provide guidelines to funders on how to set up a DEI capacity building grantmaking program at their foundation and recommend what to fund to support effective DEI capacity building efforts in individual organizations and across the environmental movement. (We also include recommendations specifically for staff of color, DEI point people, and staff leaders in section VII of the report.)

Grantmaking Guidelines

• Wisely invest significant funds and for the long term. DEI change work does not occur in one-year grant cycles and requires sustained, wise investments in effective, high impact, and transformative DEI work over many years.

• Develop a guiding vison/goal and a “why” statement to guide your DEI capacity building investments. The statement will clarify why DEI is important to your foundation’s overall vision and mission, and the vision/goal will support your grantmaking approach.

• Hire an external thought partner. The thought partner can provide crucial support and wisdom for the effective development, implementation, and troubleshooting of the program.

• Be patient and commit to a growth mindset (for yourselves and your grantees). Consider developing a long-term strategy (5-10 years) that includes a vision, a change process, time for reflection (to assess lessons learned and adjust as needed), and deliberate funding strategies at varying growth stages.

• Partner with staff of color and grantees. Co-create a DEI capacity building grantmaking program with grantees (and other environmental organizations within the region served) and staff of color from these organizations. Gather information to gauge interest in and build support for DEI capacity building and to shape a program relevant to its users. Intentionally build relationships based on trust and safety, especially with staff of color, to create an atmosphere that encourages frank feedback.

• Support organizations that are authentically committed to transformation. Funding the approaches and efforts recommended in this report will support transformation: follow “the how”; shift from a white dominant culture to an inclusive culture; listen to and follow the advice of staff of color; learn about and address institutional and systemic racism; leaders grow their DEI competency; and all of the staff and board members do this work and grow together.

• Add support for people-of-color-led/justice-focused groups working on environmental issues. All funders interviewed also provided funds to groups that are led by people of color or that focus on justice, which was a top funder recommendation. These groups are currently the most effective at achieving both racial equity and environmental outcomes, whereas many mainstream environmental groups will not achieve consistent and high-impact racial equity outcomes until they reach a more advanced DEI stage. Building DEI capacity to reach this advanced stage takes time.

• Build DEI capacity at your foundation. To reap the same benefits for doing DEI work as your grantees, you and your colleagues at your foundation must be deeply introspective about your own DEI journey—humbly understanding your own current state of DEI competency and being honest with yourselves about how much work you need to do to achieve your own DEI transformation. A shared experience of learning and growing together with grantees promotes authenticity, integrity, and a mutual appreciation for the importance of DEI capacity building and the need to do it well.

How to Support Individual Organizations

• Support effective, ongoing trainings for all staff and board members, especially leaders. Focus on personal development, deep transformation, and racial equity that addresses white dominant culture and institutional and systemic racism. 

• Hire DEI consultants and staff that can guide and implement report recommendations and insights. For example, they can facilitate racial equity trainings, guide change management, and co-develop new organizational systems and structures that support the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion and that do not reinforce white dominant culture. DEI consultants and dedicated DEI staff can teach, guide, and coach staff and board members and, when used discerningly, can expedite DEI progress.

• Support readiness work to prepare organizations beginning the DEI journey. It is important to set organizations and staff up for success and on the right footing from the beginning, focusing on high impact change work that addresses root issues. This readiness work should include all staff and board racial equity trainings and making the case for DEI.

How to Support the Environmental Movement

• Support people of color networks.  Doing so would support the retention, survival, and success of staff of color and provide a solid foundation for all DEI work in this sector.

• Support readiness across the environmental movement for organizations embarking on their DEI journeys. Provide a space for leaders and DEI change agents from several organizations to learn about racial equity and organizational change management together and participate in facilitated discussions about why DEI is important to each of their missions. These activities will help build awareness and commitment and equip change agents and leaders with knowledge, skills, and approaches to more effectively advance DEI at their organization. 

• Support learning cohorts for organizational leaders. To effectively lead an organization committed to DEI, leaders must continue to increase their DEI aptitude. To support this growth, funders should create sustained learning and support cohorts comprised of leaders from multiple organizations.

• Support the development of a staff of color cultural assessment. Since the experiences of staff of color are the barometers for the effectiveness of DEI work, evaluating these experiences over time can provide critical information about effective DEI practices and approaches and the environmental movement’s growth.

• Produce a report (or report series) of case studies about organizations sharing how DEI capacity building is adding value to their mission and making them a better organization. This report could motivate and inspire others to do DEI capacity building and dispel the myth that DEI is mission drift, which commonly blocks DEI progress.

If the environmental movement is to become truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive, we must be “all in.” Committing all that we have now—time, funding, people, brainpower, and heart—will ensure a stable and sustainable foundation for future generations, especially in our future when people of color are a majority of the U.S. population. Transformation calls for fearless commitment, utilizing our collective power to achieve this evolution.  It will require the wise investment of an unprecedented amount of resources.  If we are focused and fearless in our efforts, we will realize the promise of DEI and, through doing so, achieve an unparalleled level of success in protecting a flourishing, healthy, and sustainable planet.

Now that you have read the executive summary, what are you curious to learn more about? What resonated with you? What do you think about the findings and recommendations?

References Cited

Fery P, Kobayashi N, Speiser M, Lake C, Voss J. (2018). American Climate Metrics Survey: April 2018. Demographics in Focus: Latinos and African Americans. Washington, DC: ecoAmerica and Lake Research Partners. 

Metz D, Weigel L. (2009 October 6) Key Findings from National Voter Survey on Conservation Among Voters of Color [Memorandum]. Los Angeles, CA:  Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, & Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. 

Within the past year, an increasing amount of J.E.D.I. teams are learning about white supremacy culture and how it shows up in their organization. Often the topic surfaces when teams analyze their organizational culture and evaluate what needs to change as the organization transitions from exclusive practices to inclusive practices.  

In the dRworksbook, white supremacy culture is defined as “the idea (ideology) that white people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to People of Color and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions.”  Some of you may be thinking, “why the ‘white supremacy’ term? Isn’t that the ideology of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other white supremacists?” I think it’s important to differentiate white supremacist individuals and organized groups from white supremacy culture. Stand Up for Racial Justice provides a great explanation:

We believe it is important to use the term "white supremacy culture" because the norms, values, and beliefs that our culture reproduces act to reinforce the belief that "white" and people attached to "whiteness" are better, smarter, more beautiful, and more valuable than [people of color]. We think it is important to name what is really happening, which is that we live in a culture that reproduces—sometimes overtly and sometimes very subtly—the idea that white is supreme. Those of us who live in this culture, including those of us who fight against racism, swim in this culture… and unintentionally and unwittingly reproduce these norms, values, and beliefs.

One of my go-to resources on white supremacy culture is a written piece by racial equity trainer, Tema Okun. One of the many things I love about the article is that Tema practices collectivism rather than individualism (a white supremacy culture characteristic) by acknowledging the work of over 20 individuals and organizations who influenced her article. In the paper, Tema describes white supremacy culture characteristics that are commonly found in organizations, which include:

1. Perfectionism

2. Sense of Urgency

3. Defensiveness

4. Quantity over Quality

5. Worship of the Written Word

6. Only One Right Way

7. Paternalism

8. Either/Or Thinking

9. Power Hoarding

10. Fear of Open Conflict

11. Individualism

12. I Am the Only One

13. Progress is Bigger, More

14. Objectivity

15. Right to Comfort

I want to pause to acknowledge that those of you unfamiliar that these characteristics are a part of white supremacy culture are probably agasp right now, thinking “OMG this is my workplace!” Maybe not all traits but, at least a number of them, describe your organization. It’s perfectly normal to think this. I did the first time I read Tema’s paper.  

Tema continues to explain that these characteristics are:

… damaging because they are used as norms and standards without being proactively named or chosen by the group. They are damaging because they promote white supremacy thinking. Because we all live in a white supremacy culture, these characteristics show up in the attitudes and behaviors of all of us – people of color and white people. Therefore, these attitudes and behaviors can show up in any group or organization, whether it is white-led or predominantly white or people of color-led or predominantly people of color.

In the article, Tema describes how each characteristic presents itself in organizations. She also provides “antidotes,” or approaches to counteract each characteristic. Building on her approach, I would like to share how four white supremacy culture characteristics show up in J.E.D.I. work and slow down progress. I will also provide antidotes to overcome these obstacles and help shift to a more free-flowing J.E.D.I. culture.

Quantity over Quality

You may hear: “We measure J.E.D.I. by the number of people of color on our staff and board. Let’s direct our time, energy, and resources towards recruitment.”

What this means: This characteristic often shows up in a diversity-only approach. Numerous organizations today focus their J.E.D.I. efforts on adding people of color to staff and board. The measure that guides these efforts is numbers. I have never found these diversity-only approaches to be successful because even if an organization succeeds at recruitment, the gain is usually temporary. If people of color are at the organization to merely pad the numbers, they will experience many forms of oppression—such as exclusion, tokenism, microaggressions, and feeling devalued—and eventually leave. This quantity focused approach does not take into account the quality of experience, which is crucial for the inclusion, equity, and justice elements of J.E.D.I. work.

You may hear: “We are doing great at J.E.D.I. Do you see all the J.E.D.I. activities that we have completed?”

What this means: The checkbox approach to J.E.D.I. (i.e., we did a training—check; we hired a person of color—check; we have black people on our website—check) also lends itself to valuing quantity over quality. It incorrectly demonstrates that the act of doing something is more important than how well you do something. For example, the most important part of staff trainings is what staff learn, how they grow, how they apply their learning to their work, and how they build knowledge and competencies that lead to more effective J.E.D.I. outcomes (quality)—not just merely providing the training (quantity), which can be beneficial or detrimental to staff, based on the approach and experience of the trainers.

What you can do to counteract this characteristic: Measure people of colors’ quality of experience. Value qualitative data higher than quantitative data. Focus on the effectiveness and impact of the work. Create time and space to debrief after J.E.D.I. activities to analyze lessons learned (what you stop, start, and continue). Put most of your effort and resources into creating a culture based on inclusion and equity, not on increasing the number of people of color. I have found when organizations do inclusion and equity well and continue to grow, they become desirable workplaces for people of color.

Only One Right Way

You may hear: “This is just the way we do it” or “We can’t do that because it’s not the way we do it.”

What this means: This characteristic is a common inhibitor of inclusion, and is commonly seen in predominantly white environmental groups who want more staff of color but expect them to conform to the current culture. Current staff do not want to change their approach, which has always been the way (and mistakenly adopted as the only one right way). Often, “this is just the way we do it” approach is unclear to new staff and board members, which is where paternalism overlaps with this characteristic.

When I first heard a trainer say that there are many right ways. I was taken a back. I said to myself, “What do you mean? I thought my way was the only right way.” This new approach has since influenced the way I lead, supervise, coach, and co-create teams and has led to way more effective outcomes. A culture that allows for many right ways invites co-creation and a diversity of approaches (usually drawing from a diversity of experiences) to achieve the goal. Allowing for creativity leads to innovation, which we desperately need if we are to find solutions to the biggest environmental and J.E.D.I. challenges that we have ever faced.

What you can do to counteract this characteristic: Understand that there are many right ways to achieve the goal. Co-create—do not set your agenda or goals before you work with your team or partners. Allow time and space for the co-creation process. Always invite more than one approach. Adopt brainstorming sessions to think of multiple ways for accomplishing goals and to support outside-the-box thinking. Co-create “pilots” to experiment with new approaches. Adopt a growth mindset (individually and organizationally) that allows for mistakes and constant improvement. Practice listening to understand rather than listening to respond.

Sense of Urgency

You may hear: “We can’t do J.E.D.I. right now because we have more important things to work on, like solving climate change and species loss.”

What this means: Environmental organizations are often run by a sense of urgency to save [insert cause here] RIGHT NOW. They believe that if they delay, they will fall behind the curve, so they need to be “laser focused” with all hands on deck. This characteristic feeds into either/or thinking as people are forced to decide between false choices immediately with no time to consider other options. Funders exacerbate this franticness when they expect organizations to boil the ocean on tight timelines and follow time-consuming reporting requirements. This sense of urgency approach is dangerous because: (1) it leaves people (especially people of color) and new, more successful approaches (like J.E.D.I.) behind for the sake of a quick fix, and (2) the organization will continue to follow institutionally racist practices and approaches, which is the norm when doing nothing or very little on J.E.D.I.

J.E.D.I. work will actually slow down other work since staff and board will need time to learn, build capacity, and integrate J.E.D.I. into all aspects of the organization. However, the temporary pause will make the organization better, and in the long run will allow the organization to reach a higher level of success at achieving its mission. “Go slow to go far” is a common saying and approach I share with organizations.

Additionally, as demographics continue to shift, working with people of color will be inevitable. If organizations are not prepared and equipped to work effectively across difference, they will make mistakes. They will end up spending more time repairing damage and rebuilding trust than if they took the time to build a successful approach grounded in J.E.D.I. from the get-go. The real question is: will the organization do the work now or later, or do nothing and settle for failure?

What you can do to counteract this characteristic: Adopt a both/and approach by integrating J.E.D.I work with current work (many J.E.D.I.s share that they grow quicker when they apply J.E.D.I approaches to their current work). Educate funders by letting them know they need to make long term investments because short term grant cycles don’t work in the J.E.D.I. space and may actually cause more damage than good. Adopt realistic and manageable timelines and work plans that include J.E.D.I. Are deadlines self-imposed? Why? Can they be extended if you need more time to process? Adopt a “go slow to go far” approach. Include J.E.D.I. in performance evaluations.

Fear of Open Conflict

You may hear: “I don’t say anything about my oppressive experience for fear of being labeled a trouble maker and losing my job.”  

What this means: This characteristic commonly prevents people of color from fully sharing their often oppressive and racist experiences. If they say something, they feel they will be ridiculed, seen as the problem, and risk their job and emotional well-being. White people, especially those that have not intentionally built any J.E.D.I. competencies, often do not handle conflict about racial issues well. White people will feel they have a “right to comfort” and may retaliate against the person of color who raised the issue, believing they are the cause of the discomfort. This characteristic also prevents organizations from deeper J.E.D.I. work since they are preoccupied with who to blame or scapegoat rather than addressing the root causes of the issue raised. Also because of these fears of open conflict and retaliation are so prevalent across the movement, we don’t fully understand how widespread of an epidemic these oppressive and racist experiences are. The environmental movement’s culture is unsafe for people of color to talk about their experiences openly. Fortunately (or unfortunately) in my work, I am privy to many of these stories, and I would like to share a few staff of color quotes collected from another project.

I wish I could find a way to share how the many small microaggressions have affected me. I'd love to… share in a way that will not result in retaliation… my experiences can really shine a light on what institutional racism looks like every day and how those little things that we should ‘just let go of’ add up to real harm.

The organization feels like it needs an actual honest conversation and more diverse voices on leadership teams. But the last couple of people of color that pushed for this were put on work improvement plans and pushed out. So I struggle with the discomfort of conforming and feeling bad or speaking out and losing my job.

While I was made to use my social capital with other people of color and social justice advocates to build coalitions for the organization, my work was not taken seriously and at times that capital was squandered. I was also bullied when I spoke up.

What you can do to counteract this characteristic: Learn about white fragility and how it affects the organization. Consider strategic messengers to raise difficult issues. People of color and white allies could collectively bring up issues or white allies could be the voice to reduce the risk of backlash. Create a people of color only space, a white ally space, and a safe integrated space. Hire a consultant to collect J.E.D.I. data confidentially and share recommendations. Create systems for staff to share sensitive concerns. Build trust. Learn ways to communicate effectively across difference. Reward staff for raising difficult issues.

As I mentioned earlier, these are only some examples of white supremacy culture rearing its ugly head in our J.E.D.I. efforts. When looking for these 15 characteristics of white supremacy culture, you will find them everywhere, often intersecting in a multitude of ways. These characteristics have helped me name and apply language to difficult J.E.D.I. situations, and the antidotes have helped me think of ways to productively address these situations.

You will also find yourself displaying these characteristics. I do. I suffer from perfectionism, especially writing these blog posts. If you find a mistke, then it actually may be a good thing for me. Also, when someone dismisses J.E.D.I. work, often my immediate reaction is defensiveness. This is my craft, to which I have committed my career. In these situations, I calm myself down, acknowledge my emotions and triggered-state (if I am triggered), and open myself to the conversation with love, empathy, humility, and curiosity.      

While it is disheartening to observe and experience white supremacy culture characteristics even while doing J.E.D.I. work, there are countermeasures. The first steps in shifting this culture lie with you and me and our commitment to building our awareness, knowledge, and skills on a personal level (as I have described in my blog post, The Crucial Importance of Me). As we build our competency and increase our agency, we will know when white supremacy culture characteristics appear and then have the skills and approaches to counteract them.  As we do this, we will create an inclusive culture where we all can prosper.

Do any of these examples resonate with you? How do white supremacy culture characteristics show up in your organization? How do they hinder your J.E.D.I. work?  Have you implemented any antidotes?

Personally, how do white supremacy culture characteristics show up in your behaviors?

Images from J.E.D.I. Heart’s first five blog posts

Hi J.E.D.I.s!  Over a month has passed since I launched J.E.D.I. Heart. Exciting! I never expected that it would be so well received, and I want to thank all of you for your support. I am particularly grateful for your engagement in the comment section beneath each post.

Since the blog readership has grown quickly over the last month, I am re-sharing my first five blog posts in case you missed reading some or all of them.

Before I start, I have a few requests :

1. Thanks to all of you J.E.D.I.s who have written in the comment sections. Just another reminder to please ask questions, add your thoughts, and share stories in the comment section at the end of the blog posts. Also, comment on the comments. It is highly encouraged! This is your opportunity to engage with other J.E.D.I.s, learn from each other, and draw from our collective wisdom. Some sample questions may be, “Hey Glenn, I loved learning about your JEDI journey. Can you tell me more about how you involved your board? We are having challenges.” Or “Hi Rob and Scott, when you convince others to start with personal work, what approaches have worked best?” Or “Hey David, why do you always goof off in pictures?”

2. I started this blog to support all of you and the growing community of J.E.D.I.s. I want to be as helpful as possible so please email me any suggestions. What do you like? What do you dislike? What new topics should I cover? What do you want to learn more about?

3. I do not have a communications department, nor does this blog make money. I rely on word of mouth from all of you wonderful people. Therefore, please share the blog with five people who would find these posts valuable. Ask them to subscribe. You could say something like, “Hi [insert colleague’s name], I just discovered this great blog. Since you are working on J.E.D.I. issues, you might also like it. I found this [insert link] post particularly helpful, and I love the rich discussions in which the readers engage. Check out my comments [insert links]. You should subscribe.”

J.E.D.I. Heart Blog Posts (April-May 2019)

A Multicultural First Earth Day?

April 22, 2019

Welcome to J.E.D.I. Heart and thank you for reading my first blog! I created this blog to help those of you working in the environmental, conservation, and climate movements navigate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (J.E.D.I.) with love. Since today is April 22nd, I figured I would provide an Earth Day themed piece.

Today’s Earth Day celebrations are multicultural, global, and diverse. People of all walks of life celebrate and take action to protect the planet we call home. When the topic of the first Earth Day is raised, often images of throngs of white people and white leaders come to mind because

these are the images commonly shared. One less known fact is that the first Earth Day included a call for a broad-based, multicultural environmental movement and included a diverse speaker line-up. I recently reached out to Denis Hayes, the main organizer of the first Earth Day, to learn more. This is what I gleaned from Denis’s first-hand account and several key speeches that he shared (Thank you Denis!):

Read More →

Why J.E.D.I. Heart?

May 1, 2019

Thank you for reading my first blog post and being incredibly supportive. Your receptivity and gratitude are more than I could ever imagine. If you find value in these blog posts and know of others that may benefit, please share far and wide (and with love).

This week I am providing background and context for the blog. Since I am a big fan of Simon Sinek’s Start with Why—which will be the topic of a future blog post—I would like to share why I created J.E.D.I. Heart, including why I chose the name and the meaning of the logo.

The overarching reason why I created this blog is simple: to support you and the ever-growing number of J.E.D.I. change agents in the environmental movement, especially those of you who are shaking up the pervasive white dominant culture and co-creating a racial and ethnic J.E.D.I. culture.

Read More →

In the Midst of Unprecedented Change: J.E.D.I. Progress in the Environmental Movement Since 2007

May 8, 2019

As always, thank you for reading my blog posts and for continually being so supportive. Because you all loved the logo description from last week’s blog post so much, I added it to the “About” page. For those of you who are still wondering what this blog is all about, please read Why J.E.D.I. Heart? Today, I will share my insights and observations, regarding J.E.D.I. progress in the environmental movement over the past 12 years.

In Spring 2007, the late Charles Jordan—the first African American to serve as board chair of a national conservation organization—and I submitted our chapter, “Diversifying the American Environmental Movement” in Diversity & the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement. The book of over 14 invited authors reflected on various aspects of diversity in the environmental movement in the 2000s.

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The Crucial Importance of Me

May 15, 2019

And when I say “me,” I mean you! I am talking about you J.E.D.I.s, and the courageous and vulnerable personal work each of you do to effectively create the broader change in your organizations and the environmental movement. You are at the heart of this J.E.D.I. transformation and you are crucially important. The environmental movement and a healthy Earth depend on what you do today, what you do tomorrow, how you embody J.E.D.I. values, how you respond to challenges and mistakes, how you grow and become more effective year to year, and how you do all of this work in service to the whole.

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People of Color Support Networks are Trampolines that Bolster J.E.D.I.

May 22, 2019

In a report that I am currently writing about assessing J.E.D.I. capacity building in environmental organizations, I asked staff of color, “what has been the most crucial effort that has helped you survive and/or thrive in the environmental movement?” The top answer was support from other people of color. Support was described in different forms: formal and informal networks, networks internal or external to an organization, organizational people of color affinity groups, supervisors, and conferences for environmentalists of color.

The data I collected from staff of color also demonstrated that a person of color working in the environmental movement may experience hope, feeling valued and supported, and excitement working on issues about which they are deeply passionate, while also experiencing microaggressions, exclusion, being devalued, and feelings of invisibility. The same person of color may experience all of this in one week (as recently evidenced by a courageous person of color I spoke to this past week).

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Which blog post do you like most and why?

Chanté Coleman & David Lamfrom—two important people in my support network who hold me up and empower me. Who are the important people in your support network?

In a report that I am currently writing about assessing J.E.D.I. capacity building in environmental organizations, I asked staff of color, “what has been the most crucial effort that has helped you survive and/or thrive in the environmental movement?” The top answer was support from other people of color. Support was described in different forms: formal and informal networks, networks internal or external to an organization, organizational people of color affinity groups, supervisors, and conferences for environmentalists of color. 

The data I collected from staff of color also demonstrated that a person of color working in the environmental movement may experience hope, feeling valued and supported, and excitement working on issues about which they are deeply passionate, while also experiencing microaggressions, exclusion, being devalued, and feelings of invisibility. The same person of color may experience all of this in one week (as recently evidenced by a courageous person of color I spoke to this past week).

This dividedness and oppression are shared experiences that may commonly bond staff of color together, which is why support networks are essential. A support network offers comfort and camaraderie. It’s a place where people of color can breathe, be vulnerable, and bring their true selves. It’s a space of trust, laughter, joy, hope, tears, and cathartic release. In a support network, a person doesn’t need to say anything or do anything; he, she, or they can just be. A support network is also a place of fortification, rejuvenation, empowerment, and innovation because unique ideas are supported and built upon rather than being shut down.

Support networks are like trampolines. They keep us from falling, help us bounce back, and catapult us to a higher level.        

Support networks have been crucially important in my life. When I worked for a national conservation organization in the early 2000s, I was the only person of color on the conservation staff. It was incredibly isolating as I was exposed to all types of racisms (individual, systemic, and institutional). For someone who was a high achiever, overperformer, and naturally secure, I underachieved, underperformed and was suddenly unsure of myself. Even though I was fresh out of graduate school, and I knew cutting edge approaches to conserving biodiversity, my suggestions were often shunned. It wasn’t until the second in command repeated my idea that the work was adopted. I was also exposed to microaggressions, like overhearing a coworker call Asians "little Orientals" and my supervisor telling me not to build relationships with communities of color because "we don't do environmental justice." Unfortunately, I did not have a grasp of what was happening and how I was being treated. I had a feeling that something was really wrong, but I did not have a J.E.D.I. lens or the vocabulary to express what was happening. I was a J.E.D.I. baby.

After four long years, I left the organization on bad terms. I felt chewed up and spit out, and I could not find any entity to hold me up and support me. My experience was so demoralizing and debilitating that I didn’t want anything to do with the environmental movement ever again. However, I realized I could not abandon what I knew I loved—piping plovers, cougars, otters, and biodiversity as a whole—and my new found love—all my brothers and sisters having similar oppressive experiences within environmental organizations. Since the environmental movement could not be successful and sustainable until it got this J.E.D.I. thing right and I wasn’t finding what I needed, I took the initiative in creating what I thought would be helpful for me and others in similar predicaments.

I didn't have a support network, so I connected with a few others who were the only or one of the few people of color at their environmental organizations and started the Environmental Professionals of Color (EPOC) network. EPOC has made all the difference in everything that I have accomplished in the environmental movement. EPOC was a place where I could commiserate, laugh, and cry with others. EPOC re-energized me and provided me with the confidence to pursue what I felt was right.  It was through EPOC where I met three extraordinary leaders—Tony DeFalco, Desiree Williams-Rajee, and Chuck Sams—and co-created an organization, the Center for Diversity and the Environment. A support network brought us together, and the resulting synergy coalesced into an organization that has forever changed the landscape and make-up of the environmental movement.

EPOC was my trampoline. EPOC kept me from falling and leaving the environmental movement. EPOC helped me bounce back to a healthy level of operating. And EPOC catapulted me into the type of work I never imagined I would be doing—operating in a space that helps both people of color and the planet survive and thrive. EPOC members fortified me and helped me find my way so I can help others find their way. EPOC was a space where I discovered my full slate of gifts and talents and how I could best use them in service to the environmental movement. I am grateful for knowing how I fit into the whole, so I can fully step into the role for which I was made.

If it weren’t for the EPOC support network, I likely would not be working in the environmental movement. And I might actually be a person that dislikes environmentalists and opposes environmental protection (not because I don’t love our planet), but out of spite because of my crushing experience. Even more telling—the overall experience was not because of bad people intentionally trying to hurt me. It was because of the very culture and systems that we in the environmental movement operate in and are complicit to daily. We all are pawns to the power of institutional and systemic racism that cause seemingly good and well-intended people to reinforce negative impacts for people of color over and over again. This cycle must be stopped, and the core of this change lies with you (which is the topic of last week’s blog post). I am so grateful for those of you who are working diligently to halt, dismantle, and replace this oppressive cycle.

I share my story as an example of how influential a support network was in one person of color’s trajectory in the environment movement. My story is not the only one. There are many spaces for people of color support networks in the environmental movement today, including Green Leadership Trust, Diverse Environmental Leaders, PGM One summit, funders of color via the INDEEP Initiative, Latino Outdoors, and Outdoor Afro. Often unfunded or underfunded, the amount of people of color support networks grows yearly, which demonstrates how crucial and needed they are.

Below are voices of staff of color sharing their high value for support networks:

Thank you… for a network of friends/colleagues that catch me when I fall, support me when I’m weak and give back 2x what I put in. It's like a reality check.

[The] conference… put me in touch with dozens of talented, intelligent, and trail-blazing people of color from around this region and allowed me to develop partnerships that can help the environmental movement strengthen its impact in this region and across the country.

It has been so important to find other people of color to bond and build support for each other.

Support networks allow people of color to survive and thrive and are fundamental to creating a sustainable and successful environmental movement. Organizations and funders that are serious about J.E.D.I. and successfully protecting our planet must invest significant resources in these formal networks. Support networks for people of color are the trampolines needed to catapult the environmental movement to the next level.

People of color, what support networks (formal or informal) do you participate in, and why? How has the network helped you survive and/or thrive?

White allies/accomplices, how have you supported (and how will you support) people of color networks and other people of color only spaces?  

Center for Diversity & the Environment's Theory of Change with individual change at the center.

And when I say “me,” I mean you! I am talking about you J.E.D.I.s, and the courageous and vulnerable personal work each of you do to effectively create the broader change in your organizations and the environmental movement. You are at the heart of this J.E.D.I. transformation and you are crucially important. The environmental movement and a healthy Earth depend on what you do today, what you do tomorrow, how you embody J.E.D.I. values, how you respond to challenges and mistakes, how you grow and become more effective year to year, and how you do all of this work in service to the whole.

The key to change is centering your work and growth on the personal level. At the beginning of your J.E.D.I. journey, personal work should be close to 100% of your focus—to build awareness, knowledge, skills, agency, and overall competency. In later stages, as you advance J.E.D.I. externally in your teams, organizations, and spheres of influence, your personal work must continue to maintain and strengthen your J.E.D.I. muscles. I love the Center for Diversity & the Environment’s theory of change (in the image to the right), which depicts the personal work as core to the change process. You cannot effectively change your organization without personal change. Your organizational J.E.D.I. prowess will only be as effective as the J.E.D.I. competency and agency of the individuals that make up the organization. If all staff and board are fours (on a scale of one to ten) in J.E.D.I. competency, then the highest the organization can be on J.E.D.I. is a four. If you want the organization to be a ten, then each person that makes up the organization must be a ten, which means the organization must invest in transformational J.E.D.I. development of each person.

Since you are core to the overall J.E.D.I. transformation of the environmental movement, you have the potential to be both the problem and the solution to the J.E.D.I. crisis. Let me explain.

So why might you be the problem? The biggest impediment to the J.E.D.I. challenge is you and me—the people who make up the environmental movement. We are our biggest challenge. It’s been right in the mirror the whole time. Many have missed it because we are looking beyond the mirror, searching for an elusive oasis in the distance that will solve all of our J.E.D.I. problems. Yes, we are working within a system and within institutions that continue to reinforce damaging, unjust and undeserved outcomes for people of color. Institutional and systemic racism are the root causes of the J.E.D.I. challenge. However, who reinforces and participates in these institutions and systems? You, me, and each and every one of us. We often participate without thinking or being intentional. This is the power of institutional and systemic racism—the illusion that doing nothing is good because of the widespread lie that racism only happens when malignant intent is present. Mistreatment of people of color are embedded in the systems and approaches in which we participate on a daily basis. Therefore, you and I become the problem when we do nothing because we are allowing racism to continue. You and I become the problem even when we take very little action because we are still not doing enough to stem the constant flow of racism. You and I become the problem when we take J.E.D.I. actions (albeit with good intentions) without properly and sufficiently building our knowledge, skills, and overall competency to be effective at J.E.D.I. On the other hand, you and I become the answer to this problem when we focus on growing and using our J.E.D.I. knowledge, skills, and agency to intentionally dismantle these systems and co-create something new and more powerful.

Since we are the biggest impediment, we are also the solution. Isn’t that empowering? It has been for me. When I get frustrated and start complaining about the movement being racist, about individuals and leaders reinforcing systemic racism while people of color continue to have crushing experiences, I point fingers at people and blame institutional and systemic racism. Does this change anything? No! I wish it did. I can’t point to institutional and system racism and say, “change!” Nothing happens. It simply keeps me in an unhealthy place of self-pity and makes me sadder, angrier, and more frustrated. It’s a place that dwells in division to appease my ego. When I remain in my ego, I push you to your ego, and we regress—or at best go nowhere—standing in a place of defending, dividing, advocating, and not listening.

However, when I stop searching in the distance for the illusory solution and turn my pointed finger 180 degrees, I know what can change—me. The beautiful thing about J.E.D.I. is that there is always something to learn because the work is so complex. I always find areas to cultivate, whether it’s growing my heart, my mind, or both together. This work has been the most challenging and also the most fulfilling of my career. This is life work for me and should be for you.

Undeniably, J.E.D.I. work has made me a better person. When I stand with love, empathy and compassion with all of my brothers and sisters, I am then the solution. I see and feel the true part of myself—the one that can change, that can feel, and that stands in hope. This is the true part of me that sees the true part of you. Sometimes these parts are buried within. To unearth it in another I must first unearth it in myself.

I am the solution because the only thing in my life that I can really control is myself. What I can control, I can change, and the most effective way to influence, inspire, and invite others to the beauty and benefits of J.E.D.I work is by modeling the way.

In a Harvard commencement speech, Muhammed Ali, shared a poem. “Me, We.” So short and yet so brilliant. I believe Ali ordered these two words in this way for a reason. The poem tells me that once I realize the crucial importance of me, I can then effectively step into and fully understand the we—my role, my gifts, where and how I best fit into the whole, and when to step up and when to step back. My role is not to change everything. (Whew! What a relief.) My role is to do the work I was made to do really, really well (to be one of the best at it) and trust that you do the work that you were made to do really, really well. Just like nature we each play a key interconnected part in creating a healthy ecosystem. When the me becomes the we, we enter into harmonious community. It is in this space where synergistic transformation may occur on a more powerful and broader level than any of us can achieve on our own. In the end, is that not really what we hope for?

When in your personal work have you felt you were the solution?

When in your personal work have you felt you were the problem?

Diversity & the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement (edited by Emily Enderle, 2007)

As always, thank you for reading my blog posts and for continually being so supportive. Because you all loved the logo description from last week’s blog post so much, I added it to the “About” page. For those of you who are still wondering what this blog is all about, please read Why J.E.D.I. Heart? Today, I will share my insights and observations, regarding J.E.D.I. progress in the environmental movement over the past 12 years.

In Spring 2007, the late Charles Jordan—the first African American to serve as board chair of a national conservation organization—and I submitted our chapter, “Diversifying the American Environmental Movement” in Diversity & the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement. The book of over 14 invited authors reflected on various aspects of diversity in the environmental movement in the 2000s.

In our piece, Charles and I analyzed the diversity crisis, argued that a J.E.D.I. environmental movement was badly needed to successfully protect our planet, and recommended strategic next steps for J.E.D.I. growth on the individual, organizational, and movement levels. The written piece was a call to action. We wrote:

In ten years, if we find ourselves in a similar place, facing the same diversity issues as today, then we have failed miserably and the sustainability and relevance of our movement will be gravely at risk.

Those ten years (and then some) have passed, and I have been itching to provide an update. Have we failed or have we progressed? The short of it is the mainstream environmental movement has progressed on J.E.D.I., arguably more in the past 12 years than in the previous 150 years combined. This is really good! However, we have not journeyed far. A long, long trail is still ahead of us.

We are in the midst of an unprecedented change process. As we evolve from a racially exclusive movement to a racially equitable and inclusive movement, we are experiencing highs and lows, accomplishments and failures, and pain and healing. We must own both successes and mistakes and support each other with love, compassion, and empathy to successfully navigate towards transformation. Since we are at the beginning stages of growth, we are both advancing in some areas and also “facing [many of the] the same diversity issues as [2007].”   

While I will dive deeper into the complexities of J.E.D.I. in future blog posts, for now, I’ll provide insight into some areas where J.E.D.I. progress has occurred (and not occurred) in the environmental movement since Charles and I first put pen to paper 12 years ago. Although some facts are based on studies, most of the information is based on my experiences and observations.   

Holistic J.E.D.I.  In 2007, much of the J.E.D.I. discussion and effort was around increasing the racial diversity of staff and board (i.e., a diversity only approach). While this dialogue still tends to dominate early stages of J.E.D.I. efforts, more organizations focus on inclusive, equitable, and just approaches to their work.  This more comprehensive approach may be in part due to the rise of “equity” and “inclusion” in the J.E.D.I. lexicon over the past decade.

The Why, How, and What of J.E.D.I.  In 2007, when I was in spaces with staff and board of mainstream environmental groups, I mainly shared why J.E.D.I. was important to their work (to the point of sounding like a broken record). Today, understanding why J.E.D.I. is more commonplace, so I find myself often discussing how to effectively do the work. Still common in 2007 and today, groups just starting their J.E.D.I. journey want to jump into the what of the work without first preparing themselves, building capacity, and clarifying why J.E.D.I. is important to them. Beginning and leading with the why is a core skill and approach for successful J.E.D.I. work.

Effective J.E.D.I. Action Matters.  In 2007, a big challenge was convincing organizations to start doing something on J.E.D.I. Much of the inactivity stemmed from apathy, pushback from one or a few people in the organization, and not knowing what to do and how to do it. Although J.E.D.I. activities are much more prevalent, today’s main challenges regarding actions are three-fold: (1) inactivity stemming from leaders verbally supporting J.E.D.I., yet not taking action; (2) inactivity originating from the fear of making a mistake; and (3) for those ready for J.E.D.I. work, convincing organizations to first invest time and resources to build J.E.D.I. capacity, knowledge and skills on the individual level before they take actions that can result in negative or positive impact for people of color. Doing something with good intention does not guarantee progress and often means regression if unprepared.

More Grantmaking Programs for J.E.D.I. Capacity Building.  In 2007, I knew of zero. Today, I discovered seven while writing a report on J.E.D.I. capacity building in the environmental movement. This number will increase in upcoming years as more funders, especially foundation trustees, understand that J.E.D.I. is crucial to solving our planet’s most challenging environmental problems, such as climate change and mass biodiversity loss.

More J.E.D.I. Consultants & Staff Supporting Environmental Organizations.  With an increase in J.E.D.I. capacity building activity and funding, the number of J.E.D.I. providers and dedicated J.E.D.I. staff has grown. In the last couple of years, all of my consultant colleagues and I have been extremely busy—being booked out 6-9 months has been normal. Since funders are realizing this uptick in demand, they started a collaborative effort, called the Racial Equity to Accelerate (REACH) Fund, to support the growth and capacity for J.E.D.I. consultants. In addition, a growing number of environmental organizations have J.E.D.I. directors and managers. In 2007, I knew of one environmental institution with a J.E.D.I. director. Today, there are dozens if not hundreds of J.E.D.I. dedicated staff.

Slightly More People of Color on Staff and Boards.  In the 2000s, studies (including a 2002 Natural Resources Council of America report, 2008 Training Resources for the Environmental Community report, and a 2008 article in The Oregonian) showed 4-12% of environmental groups were people of color. A Green 2.0 report authored by Dr. Dorceta Taylor in 2014 showed an increase to 12-16%.  From 2007 to 2019, people of color in the U.S. increased from 33% (about 100 million) to 39% (about 130 million) of the population. While people of color representation in the environmental movement has slightly increased since the 2000s, it is being outpaced by the rapid national growth and is still a far cry from the overall U.S. population.

Slightly More White Mainstream Environmental Groups Achieving Consistent Equity Outcomes.  This is increasing slowly but surely. In 2007, there were not many. In 2019, there are more but not a lot. Most white mainstream environmental organizations committed to J.E.D.I. are at the beginning stages and investing resources on inputs (i.e., training staff, creating strategies and plans). While there is more J.E.D.I. activity and raised awareness, effective equity outcomes result from people becoming knowledgeable, skilled, and well-practiced in J.E.D.I. (not merely more aware). Building this capacity takes time. Today, environmental justice groups and people of color led environmental organizations are achieving most of the equity outcomes in the environmental realm. (However, these organizations are not immune to the forces of white dominant culture influencing their operations and approaches, and many have work to do internally.)

Inaccurate Narratives.  While some narratives are shifting, others continue to prevail. In 2007, one of the most common misperceptions was “people of color don’t care about the environment.” This narrative is shifting, especially with dozens of polls and surveys that consistently demonstrate people of color care more than white people about the environment.  

In 2007, “J.E.D.I. has nothing to do with our mission” was a common perspective. While I still hear that perspective today, becoming more common is “J.E.D.I. has everything to do with our mission.”

Today, a very common inaccurate narrative from white environmentalists is, “because I am liberal and believe in J.E.D.I., I am effective at J.E.D.I.” This narrative is extremely destructive and causes roadblocks to progress, especially when a white, liberal person is a gatekeeper to opportunity, power, and resources for people of color. This narrative is not something that is said but more so believed. This belief causes well-meaning people to not take action, be satisfied in the little action or progress they are achieving, and not achieve self-transformation.

While it’s obvious that these lies (and many others) are oppressive and damaging to people of color, they are also destructive to white people because they continue to reinforce the lie of superiority and self capability that one race can save the planet, which has never occurred and will never happen. (This statement may sound silly to some; however, this often implicit belief or mental model guides who holds power and privilege and how and where resources are invested.) Moreover, these misperceptions continue to prevent us (all of us) from successfully protecting our land, air, water, and biodiversity. Outcomes will continue to be mediocre, at best, until transformation occurs. The only way forward is to strip off all that is holding us back, so we can achieve the very mission that many of us dedicated our lives to accomplish.

Racist (Individual, Institutional, and/or Systemic) Experiences Remain.  In 2007, I would say that almost all people of color working for white mainstream environmental organizations experience racism. Today, I would say something similar, “almost all, if not all”. As the co-founder of the Environmental Professionals of Color, people of color often share painful and confidential stories of racism with me. These stories are not shared broadly because: (1) of the personal and traumatic aspects and (2) the environmental movement has not yet created a safe, supportive and inclusive culture for people of color. The amount of stories has not decreased, and we must courageously work to increase the safeness of our space.

As long as institutional and systemic racism are prevalent in our movement, people of color will continue to fully bear the resulting brunt, negative impacts, and trauma. As many mainstream environmental groups are at the beginning stages and a few are in the middle stages of J.E.D.I. change, consistent positive impact will take time. We will not be able to undo our centuries-old racially exclusive culture overnight.  

More People of Color Led Environmental Organizations and Efforts.  Some of these groups include Latino Outdoors, Soul River, Outdoor Asian, The Climate Justice Initiative, Green 2.0, Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), Diverse Environmental Leaders, Center for Diversity & the Environment, Green Leadership Trust, and Verde. These groups (in addition to the numerous people of color led environmental groups established prior to 2007) are filling an important gap and supporting and creating dedicated spaces across the variety of environmental issues for the strongest environmentalists in the U.S.—people of color.

More Organizations Working at the Intersection of J.E.D.I. and Environmental Protection (Broadly Defined).  In addition to the many new people of color led environmental organizations, mainstream environmental groups working on J.E.D.I. are increasing. There is also a growing amount of racial justice organizations involved in environmental activities, such as climate change policy, environmental education, and green job creation. I am talking about an increase of hundreds in 2007 to thousands in 2019.

Overall, an exponential rise in awareness and commitment to J.E.D.I. in the mainstream environmental movement (broadly defined) has opened up a new era for the movement—a time period that we have never experienced before. The mainstream environmental movement has experienced an upsurge of J.E.D.I. activity (especially in the last 4-5 years), and yet we still have a long way to go. These are very exciting times. We are experiencing an unprecedented evolution of the movement, and with this transformation comes growing pains. Some change will be easy and much will be challenging, just like all new endeavors. As we are stretched, we are learning and growing. In the end, the work will be rewarding because we will support a thriving planet and thriving people. Aren’t these communities interconnected after all?

What progress (or lack of progress) have you observed or experienced in the past 12 years?

Photo of a sunset that inspires part of this blog’s logo.

Thank you for reading my first blog post and being incredibly supportive. Your receptivity and gratitude are more than I could ever imagine. If you find value in these blog posts and know of others that may benefit, please share far and wide (and with love).

This week I am providing background and context for the blog. Since I am a big fan of Simon Sinek’s Start with Why—which will be the topic of a future blog post—I would like to share why I created J.E.D.I. Heart, including why I chose the name and the meaning of the logo.

The overarching reason why I created this blog is simple: to support you and the ever-growing number of J.E.D.I. change agents in the environmental movement, especially those of you who are shaking up the pervasive white dominant culture and co-creating a racial and ethnic J.E.D.I. culture. Through blog posts, I will share concepts, approaches, tools, resources, and ideas that have been helpful to me as I navigated my own 20 year J.E.D.I. journey. My hope is to learn as much from you as you do from me. I expect the blog to evolve as we learn from each other and push our collective thinking (and as I continue to learn and grow as a blogger). You are the change agents, the J.E.D.I.s, that are actively creating a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive environmental movement. Our movement is already so much better because of you. Thank you!  

Here are the four reasons why I created a blog for J.E.D.I.s (beginner to advanced change agents who are actively advancing J.E.D.I. in their spheres of influence):

1.    A rare dedicated space for J.E.D.I.s in the environmental movement. In 2017, I noticed for the previous decade many articles, reports and written material about J.E.D.I. in the mainstream environmental movement (broadly defined) focused on the overwhelmingly white representation and the importance of increasing racial and ethnic diversity. While these topics are important to convince people to start taking J.E.D.I. action, they are not particularly helpful for people who are already committed, understand the why of J.E.D.I., and are actively working to advance J.E.D.I. Regularly written material to support J.E.D.I.s who are in the middle stages of this work and struggling with “the how” is not readily available. Today, thousands of people and organizations are working at the nexus of protecting the planet and people of color, and my hope is to provide some of the support they seek and need to be successful.

In addition, when helping and coaching J.E.D.I.s, I often hear about the same roadblocks and stories of the same “rookie” mistakes, such as jumping from awareness to action without building skills and capacity to be effective at J.E.D.I. and not effectively practicing the values of equity and inclusion when doing J.E.D.I. work. This blog is a platform to more broadly share those lessons learned, especially to avoid the rookie mistakes, and to support you all in your J.E.D.I. journeys. Mistakes in this arena have a higher negative impact on people of color (unfortunately, the opposite effect of the good intent), and the environmental movement must cut down on those mistakes considerably, especially since we have a horrendous track record.  

2.    A home for collective J.E.D.I. wisdom. Navigating J.E.D.I. is complex and no one approach fits all. If there was a panacea, we would have discovered it by now. My goal is to share lessons learned and to pass on the wisdom I have gained over the years by providing approaches, tips, tools, and ideas that have worked for me and others in the J.E.D.I. space. However, I do not have all the answers (and never will), which is why I hope this blog will be a place to explore, learn from each other, engage in critical discussions, and draw from the collective wisdom of the community. In the comments section of each blog post, you are strongly invited to share what has worked for you, not worked, where you have been stuck, and/or how you became unstuck. Please share stories, add a perspective, and pose questions if you desire. We will all benefit from your valuable voice.

3.    J.E.D.I. on a regular basis. For many mainstream environmental organizations and leaders, J.E.D.I. is treated as a separate effort, or a “side project,” that is not yet fully integrated into the culture, policies, and practices of the organization. Therefore, competing interests, “business as usual” activities, and the forces of white dominant culture may take us away from J.E.D.I. This blog will help us keep J.E.D.I. front and center because it will be published regularly and serve as a reminder to keep focused on this important work.

4.    The love aspect of J.E.D.I. Love is the only approach that has worked 100% of the time for me. In this work, love often comes in the form of seeing others, especially in their struggles and hopes. For me, love is about seeing the heart of the other person, touching and validating their humanity, no matter who they are, whether they are a person of color or white, an ally or an enemy, someone who loves me or hates me, or anywhere in between. I know there are people for whom I struggle to have compassion, especially people who have hurt me. In these situations, I utilize agape love—selfless, unconditional love—which is the toughest form of love for me. This type of love is given even, and especially, when it is undeserved. I need to remind myself that the person I have difficulty loving has a heart and despite the hard exterior—the tough, heady facade they are portraying to the world—they too, are human and need to be seen. I have learned that when I first see another's humanity, then they too can see mine, which I have found to be a core ingredient for effectively working across difference.   

Another beautiful aspect of love is that it is an infinite resource. We can use it as much as we want, and it will never run out. Also, love is the antidote to hate, and the world really needs love right now—a lot of it.

Why the blog title, “J.E.D.I Heart”?

While “heart” simply symbolizes love, the term, J.E.D.I. (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) came to me in 2016 when I was working with the newly formed Healthy Environment Portfolio at Meyer Memorial Trust (an Oregon-based private foundation). J.E.D.I. is a term that encapsulates the foundational, internal and external work that needs to happen on an individual and organizational level to create an environmental movement that effectively speaks to, listens to, invites, and validates people from all races and ethnicities. In Spring 2016, I was tasked to organize a gathering of Oregon leaders who had experience in environmental justice (EJ) and/or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the mainstream environmental movement. The Healthy Environment Portfolio included two goals—an environmental justice goal and a diversifying the mainstream environmental movement goal—and we sought feedback from experienced community members to guide our activities beyond grantmaking that could positively support Oregon’s environmental movement. As I thought of a title, I tried to combine environmental justice (EJ) with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The words strung together were too long for a title, so I thought of creating an acronym. Since the gathering was for environmentalists, I figured I could eliminate one of the “E”s, which left me with JDEI. Re-ordering the letters, I came up with J.E.D.I. (to some of my colleagues’ excitement and to others’ dismay: “You’re welcome”, and “I’m sorry”). The final gathering title was J.E.D.I. in Oregon’s Environmental Movement, held on August 15, 2016. One participant ended up renaming their DEI committee to the J.E.D.I. Council. The first time I used the acronym in a keynote speech was in May 2017 at the Oregon CONNECT Conference in Pendleton, Oregon. The talk was entitled, “Dancing with J.E.D.I.”

The J.E.D.I. Heart logo in name and design connects to the purpose for this blog.

About the J.E.D.I. Heart logo

The heart represents love.   

The stars that connect the lines in the heart refer to navigation as in navigating justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Observing the position of stars was a form of navigation utilized by numerous indigenous cultures from around the world. I am also giving a shout out to indigeneous peoples many whom have lived sustainably with nature for centuries.

The middle star is the North Star that continues to guide my message and work. The North Star also symbolizes freedom as it was used by slaves in the 19th century to navigate their way to freedom.

Lastly the ombre colors provide a double meaning: sunset and sunrise, which denote the evolution of the environmental movement, the cycles of nature, death and birth, constant change and renewing, emptying and filling, and letting go of the old and receiving the new. The sunset is a metaphor of the old way, setting in glory, celebration, and gratitude. The sunrise is a metaphor for the empty night sky being filled by the brilliance, beauty, inspiration, and co-creation of something new and more powerful. Originally, the colors were inspired by the radiant sunsets I would soak in as God deeply supplanted this blog idea into my heart.

“Cerulean” by one of my daughters, Stella — my family is a huge part of why I do this work.

Welcome to J.E.D.I. Heart and thank you for reading my first blog! I created this blog to help those of you working in the environmental, conservation, and climate movements navigate justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (J.E.D.I.) with love.  Since today is April 22nd, I figured I would provide an Earth Day themed piece.

Today’s Earth Day celebrations are multicultural, global, and diverse. People of all walks of life celebrate and take action to protect the planet we call home. When the topic of the first Earth Day is raised, often images of throngs of white people and white leaders come to mind because these are the images commonly shared. One less known fact is that the first Earth Day included a call for a broad-based, multicultural environmental movement and included a diverse speaker line-up. I recently reached out to Denis Hayes, the main organizer of the first Earth Day, to learn more. This is what I gleaned from Denis’s first-hand account and several key speeches that he shared (Thank you Denis!):

According to the intent of many of the organizers of the first Earth Day, the modern day environmental movement was meant to be a J.E.D.I. movement. On April 22, 1970, a diverse set of speakers from across the U.S., including many civil rights leaders, recognized the need for a broad-based, multicultural movement in order to succeed. At Harvard University, a young African American leader, George Wiley—the Director of National Welfare Rights Organization—delivered a speech entitled, “Ecology and the Poor”. Addressing environmental activists, he stated:

[I]f you are to develop strategies to… deal with all of the myriad problems of the environment, you are going to have to recognize that you must deal initially with the problem of racism in the United States of America.

Meanwhile in Chicago, another African American leader, Charles Hayes—Vice President of the Amalgamated Meatcutters and Butcher Workmen of North America—declared:

Our program to protect and reclaim the physical environment must include feeding the hungry, healing the sick, building homes and schools, eradicating racism and discrimination, and finally make the national welfare program adequate to lift people forever out of the degradation of poverty…This is what the fight to preserve our environment really means—it is a fight to preserve and protect humanity. And all of us, black and white, rich and poor, young and old, must enlist this fight NOW! WE SHALL OVERCOME!

Lastly, Reverend Channing Phillips addressed a Washington, D.C. crowd,

But now that White America is being threatened, perhaps we can deal with black needs and white needs – human needs – in a united effort to remedy the value system that has brought us to this Earth Day.

Back then as today, many environmental leaders of color have an integrated, complex perspective of the intersectionality of environmental protection and other aspects of society, including racial equity. Protecting our air, land, and water cannot effectively be achieved in isolation. These crucial elements to our survival are interwoven into all aspects of how we live, work, and play just as all aspects of nature are interconnected.

Demonstrated through these speeches, a call to create a J.E.D.I. movement was evident. Unfortunately, a J.E.D.I. environmental movement did not result, and we have suffered the repercussions ever since. As commonly happens in the J.E.D.I. space, intent is never good enough to ensure a positive outcome. So what happened (or did not happen) after the first Earth Day? 

Denis pointed out that the first Earth Day was about two years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, and while many Civil Rights leaders supported environmental protection and participated in the first Earth Day, the environment at the time did not rise above the plethora of priorities, like jobs, education, housing, and health care. Denis shared that “environmental racism was [treated as] ‘tomorrow’s issue.’”   

Maybe the environmental movement would have looked and operated differently if white activists co-created a strategy to intentionally live out this strong recognition and need for a multicultural movement. Charles Jordan and Donald Snow, in their 1992 article, “Diversification, Minorities, and the Mainstream Environmental Movement,” added further analysis as to why an integrated movement did not stick after the first Earth Day:

Yet soon after the bright green banners of Earth Day had been taken down, the white activists who had put the whole event together from coast to coast seemed to disperse quickly into organizations that then did little to develop thought and action around the interlinks joining poverty and racism with environmental harm.  Having heard from the communities of social justice, the white leaders of the budding environmental movement still re-created and perpetuated the same inadvertent, unspoken polices of exclusion that characterized their conservation forerunners.

According to Jordan and Snow, it sounds like white mainstream environmentalists fell back into “business as usual” mode, which is often code (at least in the mainstream environmental movement) for succumbing to the forces of institutional and systemic racism. Even by doing nothing and with no intent to do harm, following these systems and structures (often times blindly) results in division, exclusion, and negative impact for people of color. We all fall prey to these forces, which are the legacy of an American environmental movement founded in a time of overt racism (the late-1800s).

In summary, the interplay of well-meaning intent not leading to the preferred outcome, civil rights leaders forced to choose from competing priorities, white activists not sufficiently taking effective next steps post-Earth Day, and the forces of institutional and systemic racism led to no immediate progress on the J.E.D.I. front.  Although this outcome was a disappointment, I want to uplift a few things:

1. The day in of itself was a multicultural event. Can you imagine attending the First Earth Day and listening to the amazingly diverse line up of speakers and leaders?  Simply reading some of the speeches inspired me. Being physically present would have been even more powerful and inspirational.

2. Thank you to the Earth Day organizers, including Denis Hayes, for the behemoth effort to coordinate and set up a multicultural environmental event on a national stage- a rarity in those days for sure.

3. Much love and gratitude to George Wiley, Charles Hayes, Reverend Channing Phillips and other leaders of color who showed up, dedicated their valuable time, courageously acknowledged the need for an integrated movement and shared the interconnectedness of their environmental values. I would like to point out that 1970 was not only two years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination but also six years after the passing of the Civil Rights Act.  Civil rights leaders could have, rightfully so, spent their valuable time elsewhere. I am inspired by the choices they made.

4. Over a decade later, the civil rights movement gave birth to the powerful environmental justice movement, through which much progress has been made protecting communities of color from the ill effects of environmental degradation and pollution.

As I have experienced, J.E.D.I. work is often complex with numerous issues and perspectives at play. For example, I know there is more to the answer of “why didn’t the first Earth Day result in a multicultural environmental movement?” In these J.E.D.I. spaces, how do we uphold multiple truths, valuing each other’s voices, seeing each other, while also being okay with and balancing disappointment, frustration, celebration, joy, and the myriad of emotions that are felt when working across difference? This is the reality of the work. I have found learning from mistakes, replicating successes, and continual improvement as main ingredients for J.E.D.I. progress. This growth mindset will serve us all well as we analyze our distant and near past and co-create a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive environmental movement together.   

(Thank you for reading my first blog!  Please share below any comments or additional perspectives, especially regarding the multiculturalism and speakers of color at the first Earth Day and/or your experience growing your J.E.D.I. capacity.)