May 25th: A Reflection on a Year of Solidarity

May 25, 2021 marks one year since the killing of George Floyd. One year, two months and twelve days since the killing of Breonna Taylor. May 27, 2021, just two days later, will mark one year since the killing of Tony McDade. Last summer, it seemed America had a moment of clarity following a series of killings by militarized policing and police violence. For a moment, many Americans could no longer ignore the vast inequities that exist in this country. That moment of clarity resonated around the world, and has strengthened solidarity against racism, discrimination, and white supremacy in all its forms. However, systemic change takes dedication and time. The work for change must be sustained.

Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict for George Floyd’s murder represents both progress and just how far we still have yet to go. The exceptional nature of his judgment illustrates the pervasiveness of racist and white supremacist systems in America and around the world. This one case existed in the context of countless lives cut short by police violence against Black communities and other communities of color in the United States. We continue to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, Ma’Khia Bryant, Adam Toledo, Dante Wright, Daniel Prude, Rayshad Brooks, and every person unjustly killed at the hands of police, many of whom are unknown to us but whose lives matter. Our goal must be to go beyond seeking justice and work to prevent such tragedies entirely by working together for change that ensures the respect, safety and security we all deserve as human beings.

There has been unprecedented political violence perpetrated against the American democratic system, which is rooted in white supremacy and manifested in violent acts of hate against communities of color. Specifically, Asian and Pacific Island Americans have been targeted in violent hate crimes, and stigmatization. This is a product of the same systems that have led to a disproportionately high number of COVID-19-related deaths in Black and Latinx communities, and amongst communities of color. It also exemplifies the double standards and prevalent discrimination embedded in our culture.

Internationally, we have seen militarized policing and police violence threaten the peace and security of communities, sharply exposing underlying issues of systemic and systematic inequality and discrimination. We stand in solidarity with the victims of these systems across the world. In recent days, the militarized siege on civilians in Gaza has shocked the natural conscience of our world. In Colombia, many have been killed by police since protests for economic justice and tax reform began. In Nigeria, the state response to the #EndSARS movement continues to result in countless deaths. While these injustices originate in different historical, national contexts the core systemic imbalances are mirrored in the United States, nations across Europe and the world.

It has been a year. George Floyd has a semblance of justice, but the list of Black and Brown people who have been killed at the hands of police continues to grow, and repressive practices still flourish. We must champion justice for those who have suffered in silence. There is no peace and security until we all share peace and security. We reassert the Standing Together Against Racism and Discrimination Solidarity Statement, and maintain our dedication to OrgsInSolidarity.

There is so much work to be done.

Working Group Reflections

Confronting Racism and White Supremacy

This year has been an emotional rollercoaster. While the international community worked to counter the impacts of COVID-19, we would be remiss if we failed to highlight the continued division white supremacy has fomented in our societies. The very public murder of George Floyd was an alarm to many, sounding a global cry for change and call for unity. More Americans poured out to the streets and pouted out their hearts as allies to recognize that while black lives should matter, we live in a society where by our collective actions, we demonstrate that they do not. Phrases like ‘systemic racism’ ‘white privilege’ and ‘police reform and accountability’ became apart of popular culture rhetoric. More than any time in our history, we are talking. We are analyzing. We are debating. We are, unfortunately, struggling. In recognition of this struggle, our working group has strived to provide an open dialogue without judgement to openly discuss white supremacy, its foundations, its precepts, and the challenges to resolving it within our organizations and communities. We acknowledge that we all have a role to play in confronting and dismantling white supremacy. We also recognize that white supremacy is a systemic problem that continues to impose grave costs on people of color throughout the country and the world. And soon, we hope to empower our organizations and communities with the tools through a policy primer to understand the root cause of systemic racism, the notion of white supremacy. We’ve come a long way and together, OrgsinSolidarity, can propel us even further towards a united nation.

Microaggressions and the Workplace

Summer of 2020 was a breaking point of victims being killed by police brutality. As communities of color disproportionately struggled with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a video was circulated on social media showing George Floyd being killed by a police officer kneeling on his neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds while George pleaded for his life saying, “I can’t breathe” and calling out for his mother. George Floyd’s death was the catalyst for an international reckoning with racism and injustice.
Black Lives Matter protests were the place to be: it was a movement, an important hashtag, and an uprising. All the rage became, quite literally, “all the rage.” We saw thousands of posts and profile pictures of black squares to challenges tagging 10 friends in a Black Lives Matter Instagram chain, and witnessed a sea of people flooding the streets demanding justice. Now that the shouting and marching have subsided, and it seems as though life may return to its normal rhythms, what are we doing for social justice in the quiet, less publicized moments? The microaggressions working group asks, “will you do more than acknowledge racism?” Will you commit to the much harder work of equality and anti-racism? Want to become an anti-racist when the protests are over and the crowds have gone home? Educate yourself on the history of language, learn about the cultural and historical context to understand the impact of the words you use. Think about how you speak to colleagues –especially those who are different from you –- are your words silencing, ignoring, or denying their lived experiences of racism? Want to be an ally and a power broker for systemic change? First, hold yourself accountable for words and actions that uphold a system of white supremacy. Even those of us with the best intentions harbor biases and prejudices and can act in ways that create and perpetuate race-based harm. Take responsibility by understanding your own privileges and prejudices. Avoid silent complicity and find the moral courage to intervene when you see harmful or discriminatory behavior. To honor the life of George Floyd and the countless other lives lost, we ask you to commit to calling out racist, sexist, and homophobic behaviors everyday, in every place you can.

Forming the Future

Early summer 2021 is a moment of momentum, progress, and fellowship. Yet the early summer of 2020 was one of hurt, and loss, and a deep-seated sense of unease. Many of us were on the cusp of our careers, or attending virtual graduation ceremonies, when George Floyd was murdered. We tried to support our friends and our communities and ourselves, as the rhetoric on our socials and the clashes in our streets proved that the institutions meant to support and defend us - the mantles we were supposed to take up as the next generation of peace and security professionals - had failed us. This would not change unless we elected to push that change forward. We stood masked up in protests online and in person. We weren't just facing the upending of our global status quo in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. We were choosing to be the first pebbles in an avalanche to upend the injustice we saw and faced. We found each other at WCAPS and Orgs In Solidarity, and began to build the future we wanted to see in our sector and our society: one where active antiracism was the default, where BIPOC were uplifted, where we broke barriers in a sector notoriously unfriendly to the young, those of colour, those who are LGBT+, those who are beyond the perceived and current norm. Our community has transformed pain into promise. With every step forward, we build the world we want to inherit: one based on equity, justice, and the pursuit of peace.

Hiring Local and Low Income

Reflecting on the anniversary of the killing of George Floyd, it is clear that there is still so much work to be done in this country. Recognizing, also, that our efforts to include individuals from diverse backgrounds in our workforce should prompt us to develop strategies to recruit and mentor members of the communities in which we work; our working group has been focusing on that: increasing representation, access, and opportunities for people from local and low-income communities. By developing these strategies, we connect to the greater work of OrgsinSolidarity to diversify the fields of peace, security, and foreign policy to help bring individuals from diverse backgrounds into our work. We hope, through our modest efforts, to contribute to a lasting systemic change that responds to the initial desire for change that created this partnership.

Elevating Black and POC Voices

Institutional racism has denied Black, Indigenous, and people of color access to public fora, including the media, thereby limiting both recognition for their work and their ability to influence policy and culture. We have committed to understanding and breaking down the barriers people of color face in this regard, focusing on the role of gatekeepers in determining which voices are heard and heeded in the public discourse. Through our work, we seek to provide tools to help change individual and organizational mindsets, cultures, policies, and practices to create a more equitable environment where a diversity of perspectives will thrive. This includes the creation of targeted media training opportunities and support networks for Black people and people of color; persistent pressure on editors and journalists, think tanks, and congressional committees to diversify their sources to build demand for spokespersons of color; and deliberate development of new opportunities within our own organizations to support and elevate thinkers, writers, and speakers of color in our communications, research, events, and advocacy.

Safe Workplaces

On the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, it is impossible to ignore the continued violence against Black people, Asians and all people of color in this country. That and the continued stress of COVID and remote work contribute to a powerful sense of burnout and pain that many of us are enduring. At the same time, we still must progress forward. We can’t be stagnated by the continuing violence and the challenges we face. We still must continue to create supportive spaces for ourselves and our colleagues. Even if all the solutions are not yet ready and progress is slow, it is encouraging that so many groups have committed to the OiS platform and are continuing to work on these issues. We will continue to push OiS organizations to create safe workspaces and to support the other working groups as we seek to create a truly anti-racist community.

Leadership Diversity

Over the past year, we have seen profound improvements in the approach organizations within Orgs in Solidarity take to diversity, especially in leadership roles. Some organizations have enthusiastically approached the challenge of diversifying their boards and advisory committees, thinking innovatively about implementing new processes. Others have moved slower, but no less deliberately, to champion diversity and begin the work of educating themselves and their organizations about how to approach diversifying their leadership. While we have not seen significant change in board composition in many organizations this year, this is a process that will take time to succeed. Orgs in Solidarity’s Diversity in Leadership Group has been working diligently to improve opportunities for BIPOC to serve on boards and for boards to benefit from increased diversity in three major ways. First, we have drafted recommended best practices for boards seeking to diversify, which we are currently in the process of formatting for dissemination. Second, we have begun hosting a series of webinars that will illuminate and demystify the process of serving on Boards, inspiring BIPOC candidates to embrace those opportunities and informing the Boards themselves on how to be welcoming and retain BIPOC members. Finally, we have conceptualized a “Boards Fair” that will match potentially interested BIPOC candidates with organizations that seek to diversify their leadership; our pilot effort will be this fall. The sustained commitment of our group to the work of Diversifying our Leadership is as strong today as it was a year ago, and we look forward to continuing this work over the many years ahead.

Meaningful DEI Strategies

DEI strategies are one tool to help root out institutional racism within our social, economic and political systems. At the start of our group, we found that many organisations within the peace and security sector are in the very early stages of developing and implementing a DEI strategy and often struggled with a lack of experience, skills and resources in this area. As a group, we have used our monthly meeting as a space of solidarity where we share experiences in developing DEI strategies, learn from one another and express frustration when things aren’t quite working. When we reflected upon the past year as a group, two things stood out for us. First, to address structural racism, we must be open to continual learning and stay open for dialogue as individuals and within our organisations. Racial justice requires sustained attention, over time. Second, our experiences this year have highlighted the importance of coming together as a group - either within or amongst organisations - for solidarity, to express moral support and to share experiences. Looking to the future, we hope to critically appraise the peace and security sector as a whole (how do structural factors affect DEI work within the field?); to continue to build an inclusive and supportive space for our members; and to develop a resource to assist individuals and organisations seeking to develop and implement a meaningful DEI strategy within the peace and security space.

Diversifying the Field

Over the last year, the Diversifying the Field Working group explored new approaches to often overlooked areas of systemic racism, including colleges and universities. The role of these institutions in combating systemic racism is imperative as they are often a pivotal point of impact: young people who are able to attend college or university, including community colleges, do so with hope and aspiration, commitment and perseverance, and often with tremendous sacrifice. Therefore, these institutions must create safe environments in which the experiences and identities of all students are valued. They have an opportunity to seed change early. Through the DF Working Group, we have seen the power of individuals and organizations committed to change and advancement. We see the promise of multigenerational collaboration across the peace and security domains to advance equitable solutions at a key point of impact.

Fair Recignition

OiS has given our working group the opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow as individuals and organizations focusing on the fair recognition of BIPOC people in international security. Our group began with crystallizing our thoughts on what Fair Recognition really means exploring a range of opportunities spanning from daily encounters in meetings to restructuring pay and advancement opportunities in an entire organization.

We held a panel discussion that allowed people in academia, foundations, and NGOs describe their experiences and challenge norms.

We are now completing a best practices guide to share among all OiS members, and will be completing some polling in June to support it.

Supporting Black and POC Led Organizations

It is difficult to gauge what has changed because the baseline understanding of what is needed in the first place remains an ongoing problem.

Our working group is answering that question by asking people directly.

We began the year by ambitiously throwing out names and ideas of resources and wanted to create a webpage that listed connections, but then quickly started asking practical questions - like how would anyone know to look for this page, and how do we know that the resources listed will even be useful? When thinking about “support”, financial support is probably the obvious go-to, but what happens when a new startup spends all their support money on a graphic designer who doesn't give them a good product? Perhaps credible expertise should also come with that financial support?

Support comes in many ways and we set our course on figuring out the full landscape. We want to be intentional. I think the past year has taught us to stop throwing easy fixes at problems, like money, and to be more thoughtful, creative, and intentional.

To address this, we have created and launched a listening tour of Black people and people of color leading groups in the peace and security field, and fields adjacent.

We wanted to know:

Can you tell me a bit about what drives you right now?
What kinds of support are the most useful for your organization or work?
What has been the most challenging aspect of finding and or maintaining support?
When thinking about an ideal support structure, what are your most urgent needs or wants for this year (2021), the next two years, and the next five years?
Is there anything else that you would like to say that we didn’t cover already?
Who else should we talk to?

Our goal is that by answering these questions, we can both build more effective resources while at the same time creating the connections and networks that may find these resources useful in their own work.

Education and Prevention

George Floyd, one of many POC whose light was prematurely extinguished by a country that does not demonstrate that Black lives matter. He is a shining example of why a history steeped in racial and socioeconomic disparity requires historical education more than ever and is critical to eliminating the bias planted to erase and exclude the pasts and contributions of BIPOC from our history. It is integral that the world is “re” educated on the truth about POC, their broad, diverse experiences and their continued impact on the world. With this education comes the opportunity to design mechanisms to support prevention; one cannot truly prevent discrimination and inequity if they do not understand the intentional damages inflicted on people solely for the purposes of colonialism and capitalism.

Mentorship

The hardships of last year — from the isolation of the pandemic, to the political rifts that fractured our governance, to the constant reminder that black and brown bodies do not matter in society — were only bearable and survivable, because we showed up for one another. Families and communities rallied together to acknowledge individual and collective hurt, and commit to protect one another. We’ve seen strangers create mutual aid groups and art-based collectives to hold each other up. Within the peace and security field, some organizations relaxed policies in the workplace, so that students, scholars, and policy practitioners struggled to find footing amidst compounding crises. Many also turned to mentorship as a way to regain a sense of connection that has been severed by Covid-19. As such, the OIS Mentorship Working Group received overwhelming support from the peace and security field, recognizing that mentorship is not only a service, but a value. Many of our working group members championed the notion that mentorship is not just a professional pipeline, but also an opportunity to build relationships founded on mutual respect and empathy that other work situations do not readily provide. The power of mentorship doesn’t come from emulating those who are considered successful. Rather, it is about empowering and activating those who are just starting out. This includes acknowledging different models of mentorship, including peer- and reverse-mentorship. In essence, mentorship allows us to see one another as we are, and uplift one another in this process. The Mentorship Working Group is also heartened to hear many members address the blindspots and biases in current mentorship practices that inhibit genuine engagement with people of color. All too often, racism permeates our work in subconscious ways, including who and how mentorship programs are carried out. Thus, we must ask: Who are mentorship initiatives designed for? Who do we deem worthy of our time, relationships, and resources? What assumptions do we make when we are presented an opportunity to mentor a person of color? Are mentorships structured to assimilate those who do not feel like they belong? By asking these questions, the OIS Mentorship Working Group hopes to improve mentorship practices, and by extension, confront the systemic challenges inherent in knowledge production and preservation in the peace and security field.