If you find yourself with a renewed excitement about your work in the postsecondary attainment field after attending our 2022 return to in-person conference last month, I’m here to affirm that I too, as a woman of color (Blaxican, to be exact), had all
the feels. I observed many of my peers engaged in uplifting, intimate, and very real conversations throughout our time in Atlanta that I’m confident are helping us move a little lighter and hold our heads a little higher.
After two years
of quarantining, working from home with kids, virtual conferencing, expending so much energy in one Zoom meeting after the next, missing hugs and eye contact, and navigating a racially and politically charged climate, it was clear that our network
was ready to reconvene in person and tackle conversations that were once only lightly touched upon in a pre-pandemic world. Conversations that for those of us who identify as Black or Indigenous, as a person of color, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community,
as any intersection of those identities, and everything in between, have historically had exclusively with each other, in quiet spaces or private moments, through an unspoken glance across the room, or have simply internalized in solitude. These conversations
felt... well, they all felt different this time. We showed up unapologetically as us, with our historical and present traumas, our resilience, a hopefulness for advancing anti-racist practices and policies within our field, and the courage and encouragement
to take up space. I felt validated by my fellow BIPOC peers and supported by my white peers.
We kicked off our time in Atlanta, GA with Dr. Cirleen DeBlaere, assistant professor at Georgia State University and mental health expert with
The Steve Fund in a pre-conference session focused on how race-related stressors like microaggressions and internalized oppression impact our and our students’ mental health. We learned that
compassion fatigue is very real and can take a significant toll on white and BIPOC practitioners alike. Compassion fatigue occurs when practitioners or ‘helpers’ who are exposed to people that have experienced trauma (such as students or clients)
experience a state of burnout, depersonalization, cynicism and/or a reduced efficacy in our work. If this sounds familiar, know that there are steps you can take to promote compassion satisfaction, such as maintaining good boundaries, finding social
support among your friend group or professional networks, and using prayer or meditation to help you focus and specify your goals. There are steps that employers can take too, such as providing a supportive team mentality and ensuring managers and
leaders are providing support by checking in on their people. Behind all these strategies is one common
factor: gratitude, for both self and others. As Dr. DeBlaere shared in this session, gratitude “shifts our perspective and literally rewires our brain.”
This was just the tip of the iceberg as we kept digging deeper with sessions like
“Eradicate Anti-Black Policies & Procedures,” “Lessons from the Field: Supporting Leaders of Color,” and “Keepin’ It Real - Perspectives, Insights and Frank Talk with Black Male Executives.”
In one session, “Walk the Talk: Leading Your
Organization with a Bold Racial Equity Lens,” our dear friends from Get Schooled shared how they are undoing the effects of systemic racism and their journey to operationalize anti-racist policies. Check out this Transformational Relationship and Partnership Framework developed by Puget Sound Educational Service District which outlines tangible values, mindsets, and structures that disrupt white supremacy culture and contrasts way to foster possibility, healing, and liberation.
I want to encourage you
to stay engaged with our network as we plan to respond to the appetite for creating more spaces for validation, learning, and sharing, as witnessed in Atlanta, GA. In 2023, we plan to launch affinity spaces for our members, continue peer exchanges,
and will continue to seek equitable practices and advocate for anti-racist policies in our field.
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