By JEN TOWNSEND
Noblesville Diversity Coalition
On Monday, Jan. 7, I sat in a room filled with close to 100 people from our community that came together to think about ways we can collectively make a difference.
I remembered the last time I sat in this space with community members and hearing many stories of others – stories of unfair treatment in our community. Stories that are painful. I then remembered the last time we were with Cornelius Minor and his conversation about “isms” being systemic and how we can each do something small to make a difference in the system. Then, sitting here again, we listen to words of wisdom from Cornelius, a Brooklyn educator, who has experienced a lot as he travels the United States and the world to think about ways to fight for equity and access for all.
Mr. Minor reminds us that as a community, we have the power to be inclusive of all. As responsible citizens we must cultivate trust, respect and honesty to make all feel welcome and included. We have all experienced times we’ve felt included and times that we have felt powerless. How do we replicate the feeling of inclusiveness for others and what did we need from others when we felt powerless? What would have been helpful?
Our first step in continuing to cultivate an inclusive community is to listen. Listening does not mean we have to agree, yet we do need to believe people when they tell us their stories. When we say it can’t be true, it robs them of their truth. Once we listen, we then affirm. We say, we hear you. We see you. By affirming, again you are not agreeing, instead you are saying I understand this is your reality. This is your truth. Next, we ask the question, “Is there anything I can do for you?” Then we must act. When someone feels powerless, we must step in and be their proxy. We must take action on their behalf.
It sounds easy: Listen, Affirm, Ask, Do; yet in many situations this feels so hard. It’s hard because our system often constrains us in the decisions we make. Our system can silence us. Speaking our truth or someone else’s truth can be daunting.
This is not something we can do alone. Recently I heard a TedTalk by Luvvie Ajay on “Get Comfortable with the Uncomfortable.” In her talk she discusses the importance of being the first domino. When you notice something is not right, then be that person who speaks up and when you do, others will follow.
Dolly Chugh, author of “The Person You Mean to Be” as well as Brene Brown in her book “Dare to Lead” share similar messages as Ajay and Minor. We cannot sit in silence, instead we need to find courage to speak up and do this work with others. It is our collective responsibility to deconstruct systems that keep people marginalized and give them power. We cannot be bystanders in other people’s powerlessness. We need to listen to people who have been rendered powerless and recognize it may not be an issue that can be “solved” yet we can take it to those that have power to begin to make a difference. We can take it to organizations that will be able to help and move us forward as a community.
It is our hopes that the Noblesville Diversity Coalition (NDC) is an organization that can help problem-solve with others to make a difference and foster inclusiveness. We have grown from a committee to a coalition knowing that many want to be involved and therefore the larger we are in our efforts the more effect we can have on our community. We each love Noblesville. We live here for many reasons, the people, the businesses, the schools, the square, the churches, etc. We need to share our experiences of inclusiveness as well as experiences of marginalization in order to grow together.
NDC will be sharing more about our organization and ways you can become involved in the next few months. We want you to get to know us and we want to get to know you. Together, we will make a difference in our community.
Jen Townsend serves on the Noblesville Diversity Coalition and she is the Director of Learning for Noblesville Schools.