The Roots and Fruits of America’s Racism
Racism is so deeply embedded in America’s public policies and cultural fabric. If you are brave enough to look, you’ll see its roots and fruits all around you.
One thing that is clear to me these days about our current political environment is that its origins are deeply rooted in the past. Every day brings news of pain and violence. I question whether the masses can be honest enough to face the truth of how we got to this moment, the truth of racism’s bitter, ugly reality.
After the 2024 election, I remember saying to a colleague that White folks were going to struggle. Not that suffering is not widespread, it is. So many people have lost their jobs, their homes and farms, or had their lives uprooted in other ways. Each day the news shows more and more pain that extends even beyond our borders.
I said to my colleague, “White folks will suffer, too.” And by that, I didn’t mean just material losses; I meant losses of the spirit.
Here’s why.
I knew that we were entering another period of, what Dr. Carol Anderson calls, White Rage. US history is full of these moments: Black people advance. Then comes the fear we have advanced too much. Then comes violence and the thievery of assets.
With the message always being: If you are not White, you are not one of us. You are something but its not American. Dr. Anderson talks about this pattern where power structures use public policies to break, strip, and destroy all things not white and today—not wealthy.
I told my colleague this go-around feels different. I believe the difference lies in the disconnect between the public rhetoric of equality and the explicit racist, sexist, and anti-immigrant language we hear every day. In the US, words of equality and the deeds of racism have never matched, but Americans could hide behind the word, even if the country’s deeds were racist as hell. Not so anymore.
This is what White folks will continue to struggle with. Not every person. But folks who aren’t hardcore racists will struggle with the veneer of their core beliefs being slowly stripped away.
Little pieces peeling away every day like paint on an old house.
Image credit: Photo by Erik Mclean via Pexels
But, what does this have to do with the workplace?
First, understand that your staff is experiencing this politcal moment differently. Then, manage from that place.
Second, expand your team's ability to talk and write about complex racial issues. It is an important skill especially now.
People are afraid. I get it. But, how you talk about racism in your work today is an opportunity to live more deeply into your mission, vision, and values. It could also set you apart from others in your area of influence. Honestly, in most conversations right now, it is stating the obvious.
I have worked with clients in almost every sector. What they all have in common is that the problems they are working to solve are either a root or a fruit of our country’s deeply embedded racist practices. This week, I’ve been reminding myself to look for racism’s roots and fruits as they exist around me. I don’t have to look far. I bet you don’t either.
The Roots and Fruits of Racism
I find models very helpful in my work. This framework, known as the Fruit and Root Analysis, was developed by my colleague, Clair Minson of Sandra Grace, LLC.
Racism is so deeply embedded in our country’s public policies and cultural fabric. Literally, no degree of dismantling DEI programs or banning books can ever change that, because the roots of racism are so deep. Yet, as the graphic below illustrates, that soil produces trees that bear fruit.
It is always easier to see racism’s manifestations in other people’s lives than it is to see it in our own--whether it’s pain or privilege.
This week, I challenge you to look around you and get honest with yourself about racism’s roots and fruits in your work and in your life.
Look around you. We are ALL impacted by the racist soil that the tree is growing in. I wish more people understood that the struggle to live free is a shared one.
The Roots and Fruits of Racism
To learn more:
Check out my podcast episode:
