Humanity Over Comfort
How You Confront Systemic Racism Head On
Increase your racial equity capacity for transformational change
The years 2020 - 2021 will be remembered for COVID-19 and racial injustice. COVID illuminated long-standing structural inequities. Increased media focus on police brutality helped fuel a protest movement that underscored the urgency of the moment. In schools, non-profits, and various business sectors, conversations about race and institutional racism are becoming increasingly common. However, most of these conversations are performative and do little to disrupt the status quo. The authors of Humanity Over Comfort aim to move beyond the transactional response of using only conversations to respond to structural inequalities. Alternatively, the authors advance tools that promote transformational change that eliminates the access and opportunity gaps for Black and Brown individuals. Written to cultivate awareness that increases racial equity capacity, this book will help readers
- Understand historical context and the influence of racism in shaping reality
- Engage in reflections that connect learning to personal experience
- Understand the Conscious Anti-Racist Engendering Framework (CARE), which draws from adult learning theory to build community in organizations
- Leverage one’s span of control to implement practices that incrementally work to dismantle systems of oppressions
- Direct their increased capacity towards dismantling racially predictable policies and practices
Transactional responses to racism perpetuate marginalizing narratives and outcomes and do little to support the humanity of a community, including White members. This book will guide readers towards transformational change to build a system that supports the restoration of our collective humanity.
Free resources
Chapter 1: Race Matters Because Racism Does
The first chapter of Humanity Over Comfort "sets the stage for how racism through institutionalized policies and practices is deeply rooted in our history, in our education systems, and through how we communicate."
Podcast: Affirming Every Student's Humanity With Sharone Brinkley-Parker, Tracey Durant, Kandice Taylor, Lisa Williams, Kendra Johnson, and Johari Toe
In this Leaders Coaching Leaders podcast episode, the six authors of Humanity Over Comfort share their thoughts on how we can all contribute to achieving equity.
How to Use This Book
How to Use This Book sets the stage for Humanity Over Comfort by explaining the tools used throughout the book like Journal Prompts, key concepts and ideas like equity and anti-racism, and how the book is organized.
Sample Materials & Chapters
Chapter 1: Race Matters Because Racism Does
Chapter 2: Building Community by Reimagining New Possibilities