Racism as an Invasive Weed
This year marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We know the promise it made – that all men are created equal – was never actually extended to all men, much less to all who are not men. Some of us who were not part of the “all” are still out here trying to realize that promise. It turns out that’s a lot like gardening: you don’t plant something without tilling the soil. And you don’t plant once and call the work done until harvest time. You keep showing up. I’ve been reminded of this as I’ve been showing up to a much less noble fight in my own yard.
My yard and the area across our fence along the train tracks have been invaded by Japanese Knotweed, an aggressive invasive species that crowds out local plant life. It’s actually all over our neighborhood. I’ve been battling it for years, without much success. Its persistence in the face of my efforts reminds me of racism, sexism, and all the related isms.
What might we learn from the struggle against invasive weeds in our work for a more beautiful, sustainable, and just world? Let’s start with the basics about dealing with invasives (with thanks to Mass Audubon, Town of Concord MA, and University of New Hampshire Extension).
- Removal. Pull up weeds by the roots, cut or dig with hand tools, smother, or apply chemicals to the roots or stump (of a larger plant). Your choice of methods depends on the plant and how pervasively it has invaded your space.
This has been my major focus. Every few days or weeks, the pulling begins again. Even when I spent time cutting back the plants on the other side of our property line, It takes a lot of effort, and it feels good for a moment to see the work of my hands – no seedlings today! Still, I know that I’m only addressing the current situation, not actually solving the problem. I know the plants will return – and each year they get a little taller and a little thicker than the year before.
- Disposal. It’s not enough to cut or pull and simply drop the plants because they are likely to drop seeds that create new plants. Depending on the type of weed and how easily it spreads, you might need to burn, chip, bag, bury, drown, tarp-and-dry, or drop at a composting facility (if they haven’t gone to seed).
This has been a major mistake for me. I simply pull or cut and throw the uprooted plants over the fence. Somehow, even though I know better, I’m not doing better!
- Prevention and replacement. Nature – including soil – abhors a vacuum. So, it’s important to plant or replant fast-growing native plants quickly in order to “outcompete” any residual weeds. And, it’s essential to monitor for reappearing seedlings and uproot them quickly.
I haven’t gotten to this point in the struggle against the Knotwood because I’m constantly pulling up plants that spring up in the middle of grass or areas covered in mulch or stones. They’ve even poked through the stones in my house’s pudding stone foundation – ugh! I simply haven’t done the work of really clearing the space and replanting it with healthy local alternatives.
So what does this have to do with uprooting racism, sexism, and the other isms and creating healthy, equitable, and inclusive organizations and communities? Maybe everything!
- Removal. How often do we treat racism, sexism, and other isms as if they are things we can uproot with a specific intervention that is typically unequal to the task (like my constant pulling up of seedlings), and then are surprised when they reappear in the same spot or somewhere else in our work. Remember what Jay Smooth taught us: It’s important to treat the “removal” of racism (and other isms) like dental hygiene (a maintenance routine we have to do every day), rather than a tonsillectomy (a one-and-done situation). And, to extend his metaphor, let’s make sure we’re using a toothbrush and toothpaste that will really get our teeth clean.
Let’s also make sure that we are not relying on interventions at the internalized or interpersonal levels (e.g., awareness building and interpersonal skills) to make changes at the institutional or structural levels (e.g., policy and practice change, shifts in cultural narratives, power building by and with those most impacted by the isms and deliberate efforts to work at the intersections of multiple isms). And let’s not do what I’ve been doing with my weeds – put in a lot of effort and feel good momentarily about things that are not actually solving the problem at the root.
- Disposal. The effort to “dispose” of racism takes many forms: changing laws and policies; ensuring adequate representation at decision-making tables (organizationally and societally); ensuring that we communicate history accurately so we don’t repeat the errors and transgressions of the past, and resisting efforts to ignore present-day manifestations of racism and its impact on individuals and communities; replacing stereotypes and racist tropes in popular culture and discourse with liberating and enlivening images and stories of hope and progress in the face of oppression; and working against voter suppression and other policies designed to reduce participation in our democracy. Let’s not repeat my mistake with weeds, just dropping the weeds I’ve pulled without proper disposal, so that they can simply reroot themselves.
- Prevention and Replacement. Here is where I am both hopeful and concerned. In the U.S., we are seeing a competition between competing visions for the future. There are many who long for, and are actively working for a return to a time American “greatness” – which typically means a time when white men were in charge, everyone else had a place lower in the social, economic, and political hierarchy, and the needs of the planet and our non-human relatives were overlooked in favor of profit for corporations and wealthy individuals. At the same time, many of us long for and are working toward a country that practices its founding values, and where all people and the natural world are able to thrive, not barely survive. A 250th anniversary is as good a moment as any to ask honestly which of these visions we are actually tending. Let’s not ignore the need to clear the ground and plant something better.
In this moment of a “great unraveling,” I’m reminded of the 4 Rs of Social Transformation: Reform, Resist, Recreate, and Reimagine. If we ever needed all 4 Rs, we need them now – to reform and restore practices by public and private institutions that create more diversity, equity, and inclusion; to resist efforts to roll back the clock to pre-Civil Rights era levels of representation in the political, economic, and cultural life of the nation; and to reimagine a multiracial democracy that lives up to its founding values; and to recreate networks and local ecosystems (both natural and social) that enable people and the natural world to thrive.
What does prevention and replacement look like in practice?
We at IISC have spent 30+ years working alongside organizations and networks trying to do more than pull weeds. What we’ve learned is that prevention and replacement requires investing in conditions for collective action, not just individual awareness. It requires building the relational infrastructure that allows people to move together over time. It requires deep exploration of what drives the current conditions, willingness to discover effective solutions, and creativity to imagine a future yet unborn. And it requires leaders who can sustain themselves in the midst of it all.
That’s why we offer spaces like Gathering to Rise, a leadership cohort for Black, Indigenous, Latine, Arab, Middle Eastern, North African, Asian, and Pacific Islander women and gender-expansive leaders, alongside our facilitation, training, and network weaving work. Because you can’t plant something beautiful if the people doing the planting are running on empty. And it’s why we guide people to become Facilitative Leaders who can create the conditions for self-empowerment so that people can work together to pursue their wildest dreams together.
If your organization is ready to move beyond pulling weeds to clear the ground and build something that can actually work for all, whatever the next 250 years ask of us, we’d love to start a conversation with you.
Leave a comment