Totally F*cking Exhausted: NOW is the Time to Do The Work
Yesterday, we heard from a potential client that “things have changed” and that they were no longer “in a rush” to take on the work of anti-racism in their company.
Um.
Okay, so here’s the deal. On May 25th — just 2 months away — we will mark the 1-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. As I write this, we enter into the 3rd day of the trial of Derek Chauvin — the police officer whom the whole world saw murder Floyd right before our eyes.
We follow along on CNN or YouTube or wherever as Chauvin’s defense attorney practices the ultimate gaslighting by trying to convince the jury that Floyd was not actually murdered by Chauvin. Instead, the “cause of death was a combination of drug use and preexisting health issues.” Once again stripping this brother of his humanity and his right to be alive in his Black body.
Y’all, folks ain’t doing good right now.
All those feelings that rushed through us last summer — grief, rage, despair, shock, hopelessness — are all rushing back. Hell, for many of us — especially those of us doing our best to live in Black and POC bodies — those feelings never went away.
10 months of rage and grief + how many years we have been alive = Total Fucking Exhaustion.
Guess what, we bring all of these feelings to work with us. We don’t gotta choice. We have to work. Like everyone else, we have to show up, to earn money, to fight the good fight, to contribute to our communities. We still care, even though we are Totally Fucking Exhausted.
So, when we show up at our places of work and hear “things have changed” and that our leaders and colleagues are “no longer in a rush” to show up for us…well…that makes us feel some kinda way. Check out this video from @DrKimHires on TikTok:
At Hella Social Impact, we have created The Hella Intensive — a six week anti-racist intensive learning cohort for organizations. Our first cohort is just for certified and pending B Corps. Although these companies have declared and committed to the concept of “business as a force for good,” too many have not done the work of examining how structural racism plays out in their companies and making a plan for what they are going to do differently to authentically and impactfully show up for racial justice.
After 10 months of these companies saying “This is awful! Black Lives Matter! Let’s post a statement! What else can we do?!?,” we designed this program to give them the space to work through these questions and feelings and make something happen.
Now, however, these companies are coming back at us with questions like:
- This timing doesn’t work for us. Will you be offering this again?
- Can you break down exactly what we will be doing and what the outcomes will be?
- This is so cool! How can I help spread the word so that other companies will sign up?
Um.
The purpose of The Hella Intensive is to bring like-minded companies together in a mutual space of learning and accountability to make real change. This is not for some other company. This is for you. This is not for later. This is for RIGHT NOW. Now is the chance for B Corps to actually show up for their Black and Indigenous and POC employees, prospective employees, customers, potential customers, partners and other stakeholders — those of us who are fed up and full and rage and Totally Fucking Exhausted — and commit to doing things differently.
Can I tell you what we will be doing? Sure. We will engage in the messy-ass work of dismantling the systems of harm and exploitation and marginalization inside of your company.
Can I tell you what the outcome will be? Okay. If you choose to do the work and share your work publicly, you will create an environment where folks trust you to do what you say, feel good about showing up to work, and get excited to buy what you have to sell.
I can’t imagine what “things have changed” for this company who wrote us back yesterday. Last I checked, structural racism and white supremacy were very much alive and well. As far as not “being in a rush”, evidence suggests that the next major violent, racist news story is just around the corner. It always is. And folks are looking to businesses now more than ever to address these issues and be part of the solution.
As one of the Totally Fucking Exhausted, I hope these social impact businesses will see that NOW is the time to figure out how to be part of the solution.
For certified and pending B Corps interested in learning more about The Hella Intensive, join me and B Local Bay Area on Thursday, April 8th where I will talk more about why the time is now for B Corps to do the work, tell their story, and gain customer trust.
