Tag Archive: complexity
November 22, 2013
The following is a letter by Akaya Windwood, President of the Rockwood Leadership Institute and member of the IISC Board of Directors. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did and don’t forget to join the conversation!
Recently, four friends of mine lost parents and siblings. Rockwood has had a few unanticipated challenges this year. The ripples of the 2008 recession are still affecting the nonprofit sector, and many organizations are struggling. The instability of our national government in recent months has made things very difficult for many folks.
Read More
November 22, 2013
The following is a letter by Akaya Windwood, President of the Rockwood Leadership Institute and member of the IISC Board of Directors. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did and don’t forget to join the conversation!
Recently, four friends of mine lost parents and siblings. Rockwood has had a few unanticipated challenges this year. The ripples of the 2008 recession are still affecting the nonprofit sector, and many organizations are struggling. The instability of our national government in recent months has made things very difficult for many folks.
Read More
November 11, 2013
What we now know as Veterans Day began as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, commemorating the end of “The War to End All Wars.” Sadly, World War I paved the way and was quickly followed by World War II. And countless lives have been lost in wars since. Sara Robinson’s description of the relationship between Remembrance Day and pacifism in Canada struck me as a powerful reminder on this Veteran’s Day. Here’s an excerpt from a longer post.
Read More
October 28, 2013
“We can’t retreat, we will win… We are winning because our revolution is one of the mind and the heart.” César E. Chávez
During a visit to LUPE, the community union founded by César E. Chávez and the United Farm Workers, Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Partner Organizations of Color explored the connections between child welfare, juvenile justice, community organizing and immigration. One participant spoke a word of caution to capacity builders and organizers who seek to engage and mobilize community residents. “We can’t be another broken promise to the people.”
Read More
October 23, 2013
I saw “Gravity” last night. It was a fun thriller, relatively formulaic; and yet, also of great importance. It is significant that “Gravity” has been the top seller at the box office three weekends in a row.
Read More
September 23, 2013
Several persistent questions keep us learning and experimenting.
How do we avoid re-traumatizing people of color in this work? Often, people of color in racially mixed learning spaces bear the burden of teaching through telling their own stories. While sometimes liberating, this can also re-open wounds and create resentment at having to prove one’s reality to people who may be reluctant to accept what they have not experienced. And, over time, it can be disheartening to keep extending grace to different people in different spaces for the same mistakes. Racially homogeneous caucuses are one useful antidote. How else can we avoid these dynamics, particularly working in mixed-race settings?
Read More
September 15, 2013
The following post is part 2 of a 2 part series on some collaborative tools and strategies to help us change our selves, change our organizations and change the world. We hope you find it helpful. We encourage you to join the conversation!
We are compelled by a quote from Theory U, attributed to William O’Brien “The success of an intervention depends on the interior condition of the intervener.” Collaborative tools and strategies are only truly useful in the hands of practitioners whose hearts are big enough to hold the complexities, struggles, hopes and fears that accompany the work of transforming racism. Read More
September 2, 2013
Appreciating this reflection by my friend Augusto Cuginotti. In the context of the USA I can already the resistance, “I came to work, not to be vulnerable.” In fact, we spend a lot of time designing spaces that protect us from vulnerability. But then, how will we ever sail towards what we do not yet know?
“Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable” -Joyce Brothers
Read More
August 26, 2013
The way Maya Wiley quickly and effectively names the problem that we have in how we deal with racism is truly remarkable. It takes her two minutes to get across a point that can seem quite complex. Her Center for Social Inclusion is my client and I couldn’t be prouder of the association. Read More
August 19, 2013
The following blog post is Part 3 of a series dedicated to Race and Social Transformation. We encourage you to share and comment!
Transforming racism is hard work! The complexity doesn’t automatically mean current efforts aren’t working. Still, many are searching for new ways to deepen their effectiveness. At IISC, we see focusing both on content (what can we do about racism) and process (how we engage with one another) as a powerful way forward. Consider a few examples that flow from our practice.
Read More
August 13, 2013
How to predict the future? It’s a bit like the alchemist’s dream, ever-seductive wishful thinking. We can’t predict the future, not with master plans and not with meta-data. Too many of the problems within organizations have to do with our frustrated wish for someone – ideally “the leader” – to be able to predict the future and to create stability for us. Read More
August 11, 2013
The following blog post is Part 2 of a series dedicated to Race and Social Transformation. We encourage you to share and comment!
Race and racism continue to be defining features of U.S. society. As such, they show up in most of our projects, either explicitly or implicitly.
For example:
Read More