Let’s not go back to the way things were.
By Michelle Molitor and Nicole Young
There’s something about a pandemic that puts everything into sharp focus.
As the world we thought we knew unravels around us, our place in that world — our privileges, our abilities, and our limitations — become abundantly clear. Without functioning schools, a viable health care system, or news and leadership we can trust, the cracks in our systems widen, revealing not only the dysfunction, but also, finally, allowing the light in.
Immediately, we begin to wonder if any of the things we took for granted as whole and functional ever really were. And more importantly, Is there a new path we can forge? Is there a new lens through which we can view our future?
At the Equity Lab, we believe that individuals' mindsets will serve as the primary engine for disrupting and positively changing the organizations, institutions, structures, and systems that maintain racism and oppression. And worthiness, the concept of who deserves care and protection in our society, is inextricably linked to our understanding of both of the concepts of race and equity. What we propose is a mindset shift — a rethinking of how we engage one another, and as a result, a change in how we design the world around us.
1. Ground in history.
In order to reinvent our world, we must first consider how it was constructed from the beginning. We must understand the history of the systems we live in, right down to the design of our government, our hospitals, and our understanding of commerce.
Who designed the system that are now straining under the weight of global crisis? Who benefits the most? Who is bearing the brunt of system failure en masse?
The level to which equilibrium has now been disrupted in our country is such that even people for whom the systems worked "well enough" in the past are now drowning in the morass. In times like this, we believe that our great needs can mother great change. Are we willing to be the inventors of a future that works for everyone? Are we brave enough to design a world where everyone is seen as valuable?
2. Listen to those most impacted.
Once we have interrogated our history, we must ask: Who are the people in our communities and our lives being most impacted right now?
Mia Birdsong’s incredible podcast, “More Than Enough,” is grounded in the premise that those most affected by any issue — in Birdsong’s case, poverty — should be at the center of designing a solution. This is a radical thought in our world.
Capitalism and even representative democracy are founded on the idea that the masses are not smart enough to know what they need. James Madison, for instance, one of the framers of the Constitution, was convinced that only white men with property could be trusted to control the will of the populace and the future of our nation.
White supremacy teaches us that control is paramount. This desire for control and power creates a deep distrust of the powerless. The powerful discount the expertise and experiences of the powerless; as a result, decision-making is divorced from the reality being lived by millions of Americans every day.
But everyone can help design the future. Everybody has good ideas.
As we begin to design our collective future, are we asking the people most affected what they need? Are we willing to put their ideas and their voices at the center of the world we design?
3. Advocate for radical change.
At The Equity Lab, we believe in equity across all lines of difference and variation; however, we recognize the special distinction that race has had historically around the world and especially in this country. We also recognize the potential for that history to repeat itself. We choose to address race first and to keep race at the center of our work because we believe that if race is allowed to be ignored, avoided, or referenced with false equivalencies — it will be. For many people, this approach to race and equity is radical.
But we don’t have time to tinker at the edges of our systems. It is not enough to patch small leaks and leave gaping holes. COVID-19 conjures a visceral urgency that has transformed policy ideas that were once labeled impossible into law overnight. And while everyday poverty is not given the same level of attention as other issue areas, it is no less urgent for those living in it. Our fellow humans — Black, poor, Indigenous, trans, and Latinx people — deserve this same bold and decisive problem solving every day. One month ago, it would have been inconceivable to suggest that a CEO reduce his salary to $10,000 a year so that his employees could keep their jobs. But today, we know it can happen.
Let’s offer solutions that are far beyond the status quo. It doesn’t matter if our ideas seem too radical. We need radical answers to our country’s most challenging questions.
4. Build and iterate.
Great design requires trial and error. Once we have listened to the lessons history teaches us, prioritized the voices of those most impacted, and offered up big solutions, we must test our ideas and iterate quickly.
All of our systems were built by people making millions of choices. Our choices are equally fluid, and the possibilities before us are innumerable. We can choose to allow bad ideas to continue, or we can listen to feedback and refine our solutions to better fit the needs of those most affected.
“The most vulnerable in our society, those whose needs we have rejected as a country, have become essential to our survival.”
The collective anxiety we as Americans are all feeling right now is not just about an invisible virus. It is also our grief at losing the semblance of stability promised to us by our American-ness. But that stability was only ever available for a few of us. Our world is run on the assumption that some of us are non-essential and therefore deserve less.
But the most vulnerable in our society, those whose needs we have rejected as a country, have become essential to our survival. The thin veil of meritocracy has been ripped away and all that remains is our connectedness. We fail to acknowledge each other’s inherent value as humans at our peril.
It’s easy to believe that doubling down on capitalism and individualism is the best way to recover and “get back to normal” when this pandemic ends. But we don’t have to go back to the way we were.
Let’s consider the harder, better option that is available to us: Constructing a world that is more just, more kind, and more healthy for us all by recognizing the dignity and divine within each of us.
Want to learn more?
Listen to Mia Birdsong’s “More Than Enough” podcast
Read Caroline Hill’s post Moving Equity Work Toward Action in the Age of COVID-19