It’s happening. Your leadership decides to declare the organization is anti-racist. Now what? Did the communications team already post on social media and blast the email list? Were you brought in to consult on the language in your DEI role? When an organization publicly declares itself anti-racist, DEI practitioners are the first people I think of. Your job just became 50% harder.

Public Relations certainly has a place in race equity work, but making external statements without doing the internal work first can do more harm than good. Because racial equity always lives in the how. 

Real talk: these statements are often not backed up by internal work and contradict how you are showing up externally. No one knows your culture better than your staff; no one knows your work better than your partners. If you aren’t living into that anti-racist commitment every day, those proclamations can feel meaningless for those you need the most to make that aspiration a reality. 

I never want to discourage organizations from moving forward in their race equity journey. What I WILL do is give you, DEI practitioners, concrete steps to help your entity 
live into
 an anti-racist public commitment. 

Whether your organization is considering a statement or has already published one, this advice will help you navigate the “how.” Check out where your organization falls on this list of stages, then let’s get into it. 

😍 Subscribe to the Race in the Workplace Newsletter

👉Make sure you subscribe to the podcast.