How many times have we hard it, "Sorry I was on mute!" in these days of non-stop COVID-induced conference calls? While it is merely a blip in a video conference call, we are too often muted in much more pernicious ways when it comes to matters of race and privilege.
I get it. Well meaning people, even those with a liberal/social justice bent can unconsciously revert to silence out a a variety of baked-in motivations — not wanting to say the "wrong" thing, keeping the peace, not wanting to offend, hesitation of getting into uncomfortable conversation. Overt acts of racism are easy to peg and see for what they are (though our collective track record for addressing them leaves much to be desired). But the silent indignation of choosing not to speak does great damage in the effort to create an anti-racist society.
The privileged hesitation to wander into uncomfortable territory, to be willing to take a stand on race and white privilege not when it is easy, but when it is hard, is the oozing miasma that allows racism to spread into every aspect of our lives, stopping conversation, erasing the opportunity for genuine dialogue, and for genuine community building that does not rely on colleagues of color to do the heavy lifting. It asks it of us all.
Artful leaders come to realize that it is not the job of communities of color to carry these conversations, set the ground rules, or make it safe to engage in them. In fact, the commitment and courage that are required to "unmute" ourselves and engage in real, honest, sometimes messy and uncomfortable conversations around race and our history is where opportunity lies in building community around changing our systems and, consequently, our world.