Who Has the Power and What Are They Doing With It?

If you fail to see that D&I work is social justice work, then your D&I work will fail.

I used to be a sixth grade social justice teacher. The one throughline that guided every assignment, project, lesson, discussion?

"Who has the power and what are they doing with it?"

Are people in power using their power over others to control, oppress, abuse, dehumanize them?

Or are people in power sharing their power with others to uplift, amplify, support, empower them?

Every single relationship in the history of humanity has a power dynamic. One person always has more power in any given context.

It's a choice how they use their power. Every. Single. Time.

From ancient history to two minutes ago, power is either being abused and weaponized or recognized as a force for equity and social justice.

Power is either used to create socially just laws, policies, norms, realities for everyone. . .

Or, it is used to continually perpetuate social injustice by suppressing the rights, agency, and opportunities of specific groups of people from already marginalized groups.

Until people in power are willing and able to consistently and intentionally use their power for good, nothing will change.

And we will continue to live in a socially unjust world.

What are you doing with your power?