One thing that’s become extremely apparent to me over the last few months is that anyone can make a positive difference. You don’t have to be a first responder or in a position of power to do that.
I don’t have the education or background for those kinds of jobs. I chose social media and graphic design as my career path and am extremely content using the skills and education I have to provoke change. Anyone can use their individual skills and education to provoke change. Even if you feel you don’t have any specific skills (which is not true), there is power in having conversations, using your own platforms, self-education, and showing up for those in pain.
In the Bible, we see God choosing who we’d think to be the most unqualified to make change, again and again. He is also the one who gave us our individual talents and skills. 1 Peter 4:10 says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Rising to a position of power or possibly changing your career path to become a first responder takes time and enough is enough. Through protests, petitions, and digital protests (AKA social media outrage), so much has already changed in a fast amount of time. For example, racist leaders have resigned or been fired, problematic statues have been taken down, cities across the United States have announced plans for police reform, and many companies are showing their true colors by being pressured to share how they are going to face the institutionalized racism in their cultures.
This is a start that was accelerated through social media and protests. We cannot take our foot off the gas.
If we can get more people of color into positions of power, that would definitely help. But again, that takes time and institutionalized racism still exists. Yes, we had a Black president, but 1 colored president out of 45? That’s a great example of slow progress and slow progress is not okay. We need to do better. Here are some examples of racism in the professional realm that people of color currently face today and why it’s not so easy to for POC to just climb the ladder:
Black professionals continue to experience systemic racism and differential treatment, which impacts their performance, distribution of rewards, and career outcomes (Cornelius, Tonya H)
Black professional men are twice as likely to be unemployed as their White counterparts. They also earn 20 percent less, with the greatest disparity occurring at the higher echelons of corporate America (Cornelius).
POC also experience covert gendered racism in the hiring process. As ―soft skills – defined broadly as interaction skills and motivation skills – have become increasingly more important to employers, these elusive criteria have proven detrimental to Black men in gaining access to jobs. Studies indicate employers believe Whites have greater soft skills than Blacks and Black women have greater soft skills than Black men. Black women are seen as easier to work with and less aggressive than Black men. This conclusion that Black men have less of a chance of getting into occupations requiring higher levels of soft skills not only speaks to problems Black professional men encounter with getting hired, but also signals trouble for their ongoing career development (Cornelius).
Companies are more than twice as likely to call minority applicants for interviews if they submit whitened resumes than candidates who reveal their race—and this discriminatory practice is just as strong for businesses that claim to value diversity as those that don’t (Harvard Business School).
On average, white applicants receive 36% more callbacks than equally qualified African Americans. [...] Discrimination continues, and we find little evidence in regards to African Americans that it is disappearing or even gradually diminishing. Instead, we find the persistence of discrimination at a distressingly uniform rate (PNAS).
There is a lot of injustice in the world and it’s not enough to just sit idly by. To have the ability to not care about politics and fighting for what’s right, that’s your privilege talking. As Christians, the Bible calls us to “learn to do right, seek justice, and defend the oppressed” Isaiah 1:17.
If enough of us stand up against injustice, injustice cannot win. Speak up on the platforms you have and if only one person is moved to action, that makes all the difference. Don’t believe the lie that you can’t cause positive change because you absolutely can.