Race & Social Justice Consulting
What is Race & Social Justice Work?
I believe we live in a world of simultaneous truths. For example, I believe it's true both that we are all one as spiritual beings and that we are different—and treated differently in the world. That race is both a purely social construct with no basis in science and one of the differences that make a difference in people’s access to the ‘good things in life’ (wealth, jobs, healthcare, homes, education, etc.). That we are all Good at our core and that some of us (whites and males, for example) have been socialized into roles and attitudes of superiority and dominance.
Social justice work aims to deal squarely with these and other simultaneous truths, shedding light on unearned privilege, dominance and internalized oppression, refusing to allow some “truths” to eclipse or erase others. The current focus of my work is primarily race, as one of the many dimensions of oppression (gender, class, sexual orientation, age and ability being among the numerous others).
Normally I work as part of an interracial team to help organizations (through the people in them)
- adopt a common framework with which to discuss issues of race
- begin to internalize that framework so that they can both deepen their self-awareness and self-acceptance regarding race and racism and apply it to their work (for example, teachers changing how they behave in their classroom)
- learn tools with which to analyze their collective culture and institutional structures and interrupt patterns of racism (and other forms of oppression) within themselves, their colleagues and their organization.
As a white person, I aim to help other white people become stronger allies to people of color and more effective in fighting for social justice.
Why I Do this Work
As a white, heterosexual, temporarily able-bodied male growing up middle-class in the US, I was socialized to think of myself as separate and superior—to anyone not white and male (and American). This internalized superiority, while on the surface encouraging me to think highly of myself, came at a cost: isolation and anxiety. It taught me that I belonged only with people who look like me, that I was "safe" only with "my people."
So my incentive to do "this work" is to reclaim the humanity lost to my socialization and to reclaim my sense of belonging in a world that includes Other. Another way to say it is that I am striving to choose "love vs. fear." My socialization taught me to close my heart, to separate myself (as superior, sure, but nonetheless, separate); to live out my internalized superiority (gender or racial) is, in my belief, to live a fear-based life.
It's also living a lie. As someone who seeks "truth" (I love the saying that Truth is the world's most potent aphrodisiac), I'm willing to trade a false sense of security, superiority or specialness in order to move toward a truer way of living. This means telling the truth about a system that benefits me (in the socio-economic-political realm) and bleeds me of my humanity.
I am called to this work—and terrified by it! A colleague and mentor said to me that this work would demand more of me than anything else I could possibly do. I suppose that's another incentive for me—to find out what I'm made of and just how much I have to offer. That same person helped me understand that I will certainly make mistakes and disappoint people of color (and women, folks with disabilities, etc.). The perfectionist in me despises that inevitability with a passion. Maybe that's an example of what this work will demand of me: to get over myself and just keep showing up, warts and all.
When I remember to see this work not as a never-ending test I’m trying to ace (which is hopeless), but as a life-long course of learning and healing, things go a lot better! Then I can accept that I will “make mistakes” and that my job is not to avoid letting my socialization (racism, sexism, etc.) show, but to show up with humility, curiosity and concern for those who get hurt when it inevitably does.
My Credentials
Service & Leadership
Training & Education
While the lion's share of my learning has happened "on-the-job" and in the context of my colleagial relatonships, I have attended workshops and training programs provided by the following organizations:
Colleagues with Whom I Offer this Work
 Anika Nailah is a writer, teacher and cross-cultural consultant. An adjunct faculty member at School of Social Work at Smith College, she co-teaches “Racism in the US” for MSW candidates. She is the author of Free & Other Stories, a collection of short stories that asks the question, "What are the prisons we are born into and those that we create, and how do we break free?" Anika is also a contributor to the African American Literature anthology, Gumbo.
A former high school teacher and teacher’s coach, much of Anika’s cross-cultural consulting work is with educators, both secondary and post-secondary. Drawing on her experience as an author, she uses writing as a way to help participants discover, reflect, document, and express their journey of awareness.
 Robin DiAngelo, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Multicultural Education at Westfield State College, she teaches courses in Multicultural Teaching, Inter-group Dialogue Facilitation, Cultural Diversity & Social Justice, and Anti-Racist Education.
Her research focuses on Whiteness Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis, explaining how Whiteness is reproduced in everyday discourse. Robin is particularly concerned with the challenges of an increasingly white teaching force and an increasingly diverse student population.
For over 15 years Robin has provided workplace training and consulting on issues of cultural diversity and social justice, with a special focus on race relations. A former resident of Seattle, Robin’s clients include the Seattle Police Department, Washington State Department of Health & Human Resources, the YMCA, Commonwealth Corporation, and Seattle Public Schools.
 Kent Alexander, Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Elms College, teaches a First Year Seminar class entitled "The 1960s: Passé or Visionary?" and, with Mary Brainerd, co-teaches a class on cultural competency.
Kent lived and worked for 21 years in NYC, during which time he served as an arts consultant for Teachers and Writers Collaborative, ran conflict resolution clinics and conducted theater and related workshops at the FDR Veteran's Hospital in Montrose, New York.
He has developed creativity workshops for the SONY Corporation, Outward Bound, the NYC Studio in the School program, The Catskill Arts Society, and New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).
Kent is also the author of five non-fiction books and numerous plays.
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