“I know that the way to create the world we want, and the one we owe those who come after us, is only something that can be achieved in community.”
February 2022
Dear friends,
As we celebrate Black history – this month and always – and make plans for the spring, we’ve been thinking a lot about the power of community. As the two of us look back on our most impactful work and our seasons of greatest growth, the common denominator is community. Whether we’re making difficult decisions, designing learning experiences, or building our own capacity for change, we know we’re at our best when we do that in community with others.
This month we’re inviting you to reflect on what you’ve built – and are in the process of building – in community with others. In what ways have you called on community to take a risk or learn something new or make a dream a reality?
One way that we’ve experienced the power of community over the past year and a half is through the design and facilitation of the White Leaders Working on Antiracism (WLWA) series. In the summer of 2020, we were deep in conversation with our friends and colleagues Michelle Hernandez and Amber Mackay at Leading Elephants about how we could hold space for white leaders to do necessary internal work around antiracism. With advisory support and thought partnership from Lesley Brown Rawlings at Beloved Community, we worked together to create the WLWA series, a white affinity space for leaders who want to take more meaningful action to disrupt oppressive systems in their workplaces and beyond.
The sense of community we experienced in designing this program deepened and multiplied as we built community within each of our five WLWA cohorts. If you are a white leader or you know a white leader who is seeking to deepen their lived commitment to antiracism in community with others, please read more about the program below and consider registering for our March 2022 cohort.
Join us!
Collective Conversation: What does building community mean to you in this season?
February 22nd 11 AM EST – Our Collective Conversations are a monthly opportunity to learn and reflect in community with others. This month we’ll be discussing how we’re building – or seeking to build – community in our lives. We invite you to pause, grab a mug of coffee or tea, and join us for this informal conversation about the power of community. The registration link is below.
White Leaders Working on Antiracism March Cohort
White Leaders Working on Antiracism is a dedicated space for reflection, learning, and practice for white leaders who aspire to lead with equity. Through this four part series, white leaders engage in the internal work of rigorously reflecting on their impact as well as the external work of engaging responsibly and thoughtfully on issues of race and equity. Learning, reflecting, and practicing in community with other leaders can be transformative.
You can register for our March 2022 cohort below, and reach out to us with any questions.
Tide Risers Spring Cohort
There’s still time to join the spring cohort of Tide Risers, where Marion will be a facilitator. Learn more about this intentional community for women in our partner spotlight below!
Partner Spotlight
A community we love to be part of and to partner with is Tide Risers, an international community of women who come together to learn and grow while supporting each other. Marion had a blast doing her first Instagram Live chat with Lara Holliday, founder of Tide Risers, last week. In this chat they talk about the power of community to help you get unstuck and be your best self. Check out their reflections about coaching, abundance, authenticity and more here!
To learn more and get a taste of the Tide Risers community, you’re invited to a free, virtual recruitment salon, Welcoming Abundance as You Embrace Your Strengths, with Tide Risers Heather McDanel and Olympia Trumbower on Tuesday, February 15th at 1 pm EST. In this session you’ll reflect on how you can embrace your strengths while also learning how joining the Tide Risers Flagship Program this spring can help you live more fully into them. You can register here.
What We’re Reading and Listening To
28 Days of Black History from Anti-Racism Daily
Subscribe (and donate!) to Anti-Racism Daily and receive this daily email series to celebrate Black History Month.
The Body Is Not An Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love
We love listening to and learning from Sonya Renee Taylor about the power of radical self-love to transform us as individuals and to dismantle the unjust systems that hold us back.
Gratitude
We’re deeply grateful for community in all its forms this month – including the community of colleagues and friends who are reading this newsletter right now!
Keep shining,
Marion and Miwa