The lack of diversity is nauseating
I know this post may make me sound like another whiny white person, but I honestly don't know how to convey in words the fact that I am, quite literally, sick to my stomach after my morning of research. I also know full well I'm not telling PoC anything you don't already know. But I'm asking you to please be patient and read through this and please offer any feedback you're led to offer, if any. Thanks in advance. 
I wrote about this a bit in a recent post: "Did you know that speaking out about racism is not 'civil'?"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/118741798
In my ongoing quest to find aligned organizations where I may find members, supporters, collaborators and partners to help me move forward in my work (I'll post more at the end of this post), I went down a rabbit hole this morning. I explored organizations which, in theory, seem to be aligned with my vision of the work of "empowering DIVERSE communities for the advancement of transformation to more caring, just, sustainable societies."
Let me start with this lovely graphic (*cough*) which I tried to approach with an open mind. It's a quote evidently used in a new by Mark Gerzon.
Even though seeing Grover Norquist's name made me cringe, I didn't want to be narrow-minded. After all, I DO want to collaborate and I DO believe we must all work together to transform our culture. I reeeeeeally want to be a bridge. I believe in bridges. My spidey sense was already telling me that Grover Norquist and Joan Blades were indeed going to be the face of the transpartisan movement they're supporting, but I wanted to find out for sure.
I started by reading the Amazon Page for Mark Gerzon's book -- "The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide" -- and I looked up every single person who provided an editorial review re: this book.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS WHITE.
Next I explored various organizations involved in the work of respectful dialogue, community building, compassionate action, etc. I've been compiling this list for years, mind you, so none of these organizations are new. But over the last year I have zeroed in on only wanting to work with those whose organizations are TRULY reflective of diversity.
So, I just spent the last four hours drilling down on that.
THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IS APPALLING, TO SAY THE LEAST.
THE WHITE (and frequently male) PRIVILEGE OOOZES FROM THESE PAGES...pages filled with intentions with which I resonate but do not believe it can be achieved without many more diverse voices coming to the table.
HOW CAN THEY NOT SEE THIS???????
An excellent organization regarding dialogue and conversation has a couple of thousand members -- people who are learning to lead conversations and mediate, including issues such as Restorative Justice. I scrolled through as part of my process this morning. There are approximately 2000 people listed, and about 30 of them are people of color. Seriously.
I screamed out loud when, in the process of going down this rabbit hole, I saw an organization involved with these other organizations (like the Bridge Alliance) by the name of Institute of Cultural Evolution.
Okay, okay....good....I am going to see diversity there. Not only academia diversity (that seems to be where the diversity comes into play; these organizations listing leaders in academia who happen to be persons of color) but perhaps my holy grail of boots-on-the-ground leadership will be evident. Granted, once I went to the page I saw it was a think tank of sorts and thus steeped in academia but look. Just look:
http://www.culturalevolution.org/about-us/ice-fellows-and-management/
My insistence on diversity is a huge hurdle in what I am determined to do. But it's not just on the white privilege side that I hit a wall. Understandably, if people of color don't know me -- or don't believe or trust that my intentions are as stated -- there is a hesitance to be involved or even hopeful about such a diverse collaboration.
What I am proposing is creating networks and communities which are similar to the Mutual Aid Societies of old, which the AA Community created out of necessity in the early 1900s because they were excluded from mainstream society, but now for these communities to be steeped in diversity from the very start, for many reasons.
Rather than there only being AA or Latino or Native American and other clearly defined organizations and communities and co-ops and projects -- though I COMPLETELY understand why such segregated efforts continue -- I guess I'm an idealist in that I want to remain committed to people of all colors and cultures and religions and orientations coming together to deepen relationships and community, and support one another in various ways, including supporting the more segregated grassroots projects aligned with the vision of a more caring, JUST, sustainable world.
The common factor is having aligned values and visions, which includes a recognition of not only the systemic racism so embedded in our institutions and the very real existence of white privilege and supremacy, but a recognition of how very racist and bigoted many, many, many individuals are in this country...and around the world. I want to be part of a cultural revolution, which means that for me, personally, I don't have the time or energy to try to convince people that racism (and sexism and other isms) actually exist in 2016 in a BIG WAY. I want to collaborate with those who already get it. And, in doing so, create a safe space for other members, as they'll know no one else involved is going to debate whether or not these horrors still exist and there is no risk of gaslighting.
Which brings me to a FB post I created this morning -- in the midst of my morning of research -- which I made public, so I believe anyone can read:
https://www.facebook.com/dena.patrick/posts/10208842528644306?notif_t=like
Please, please, please......do you have any words of wisdom or suggestions or reasons why you feel this is a horrible idea and that I'm destined to fail miserably? There are great projects and organizations out there which are diverse, and I certainly intend to reach out to them in a more concerted fashion after writing a concept paper of sorts over the weekend.
But the opinion of many people at DU, and specifically in this group, is important to me.
[font size=+2]Are you hopeful that I can find such a Coalition -- a diverse Coalition of individuals (such as yourselves!!!), organizations, businesses, schools, etc.?
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I would love to get MHP on the Board of Advisors, for example, and a lot of the people from Al-Jazeera America who no longer have the platform to continue their good work. So many people who can implement things I envision and perhaps they and others envision, but I do not have the skills to DO. So, instead, I'm a bridge.
Thanks again.
