January Newsletter: Happy New Year from Iris and Social Justice Synergy
A WORD FROM IRIS
Happy New Year!
How are you doing? Genuinely take stock. If you feel rough around the edges, you’re not alone. This time of year is mentally and emotionally difficult for many, and the last few years have been hard. The people you work with are probably feeling it, too, so if things are tense in your organization right now, that’s valid. It’s equally valid to want professional relationships that are honest, supportive, and just, especially since we spend so much time and energy at work.
To create these relationships, we must go through the tension – not around it. Make dedicated, safe, accessible space and time for difficult conversations. Practices rooted in storytelling are a great start. Allowing people to share their experiences and concerns freely and have them taken seriously (via actions and changes) can go a long way. These ongoing talks need to be about repairing or improving interpersonal dynamics, as well as organizational ones.
In the meantime, remember that institutional oppression also plays out in our everyday interactions. See this moment as an opportunity to dismantle these -isms within our own lives and selves, so that we can do the same in our workplaces, communities, and society at large.
NEWS TO CHEW ON
Conversations are only the first step in getting through workplace conflicts that are rooted in discomfort, bias, or inequity. For support with making these conversations productive, then building a roadmap through the tension, consider accessing Social Justice Synergy’s services.
FROM THE TOOLKIT
Working with the same language and agreeing on meanings is a vital part of connecting and finding solutions. This glossary, one of the resources included in our vast SJS Toolkit, can help with word choice as your team navigates difficult topics.
PAUSE FOR JOY
The first book we’re diving into for 2023 is Mariame Kaba’s & Andrea Ritchies’ No More Police: A Case for Abolition edited by my bestie zakia henderson brown. Readers learn about police abolition from a womanist lens, and consider ways to create safer, healthier communities without policing. And! Zakia