Before diving into self-work as a concept, it is important to frame social justice. With self-work, social justice is grounded in the framing of progressive growth on individual and collective levels. In the frame of progressive growth, social justice is an individual and collective journey where we must proactively develop self-awareness of personal biases, build an understanding of dynamic complexities surrounding social movements, apply intersectionality to our efforts, meaningfully work with different communities, and rest to cultivate intentionally holistic social change for various people and communities.
Let’s take a moment to dissect the social justice definition. The individual journey is about learning what you are bringing to social justice movements, such as one’s flex of privilege and oppression, lived experiences, areas of learning, purpose, etc. The collective journey is about building capacity to dismantle oppressive norms through social change that is fostered and sustained in communities depending on how we recognize multiple truths, center complexities of the intersectionality (the interconnectedness between realities of privilege and oppression), proactively ponder beliefs and actions, and intentionally work to shift harmful norms. Rest is included in the definition to highlight that rest is needed to do social justice purposefully and expand our capacity as well. Also, with rest, we can take time to reflect on what is happening on various fronts, how our why shifts as we adapt to change or growth, what we are feeling, what scope of community care and self-care are needed, and more.
What is self-work? At a baseline self-work “is any action you take towards self-improvement” (Paulus, 2020, para. 2). What action could this entail? Self-work action entails reframing our mind and ways of being that transcend to what we live out in different settings such as by ourselves, with family and friends, at work or social gatherings, etc. A quote by Sylvester McNutt III goes into more detail about this component of self-work. The quote reads, “Everything in life starts with your mindset first and your actions second. Your actions follow your thoughts, your beliefs and ideas. To make a shift, to free your energy; start with getting your mind right, and then, take action” (McNutt, 2019, para. 1). With our minds, it is about dissecting how we are conditioned in oppressive systems (i.e. white supremacy culture in America) regarding different contexts such as family, friends, education, workplaces, media, society, etc. Additionally, we have negative experiences that influence doubt and sustain a fixed mindset. Likewise, for shifting energy we must ponder root causes of conditions, negative experiences, and fixed mindsets to determine who we are and how we want to live in expansive ways that liberate us and others. Another core component of self-work is intentions. With intentions, one states the foundation for how they want to think, act, or be with growth or goals. With self-work we should be grounded in a purposeful why, what, how, and when. Intentions set the foundation for our self-work and grounding one’s purposeful why, what, how, and when.
Here is the intention formula one can use when developing self-work intentions regarding social justice:
In 2021, surrounding social justice, I will blank by x.
Example: In 2021 surrounding social justice, I will be proactive with unlearning white supremacy culture by learning about the characteristics and pondering how to counteract them in different settings.
To meaningfully do self-work one has to acknowledge their fear zone, learning zone, and growth zone. The fear zone includes areas where we lack confidence surrounding social justice that stops us from going deeper. The learning zone involves skills and problem-solving measures we can develop for social justice challenges. The growth zone entails what we are striving to accomplish, how we could do it, and ways we center space for pivoting. To acknowledge these zones one engages in awareness, action, and reflection. For the fear zone, one cultivates awareness, which is building an understanding of privilege and oppression, marginalized communities, social movements, and more (Buildingallies.org, 2019, para. 2). Next, for the learning zone, one fosters action on how to apply their awareness in real life, which involves actualizing "an understanding of how to use an intersectional lens [acknowledgment of how the interconnectedness of systems of privilege & oppression create complex & interdependent experiences of discrimination & advantage]" (Buildingallies.org, 2019, para. 3). Then, for the growth zone, one centers reflection to rest and rethink what they are doing as needs shift, which enfolds intentionally pondering biases, flex of privilege & oppression, assessing social justice efforts & capacity-building for intersectional needs with social movements.
For Tanaisha, the heart and mind of TC Consulting, one essential practice of self-work in 2021 has been taking intentional time to reflect on her flex of privilege and oppression and her purpose in life. This has entailed being in community with chosen family to envision liberation-centered efforts surrounding work and different spheres of life. Journaling and painting pieces that provide insight of her heart, mind and soul. With developing DEI consultant content she provides resources and activities that challenge clients to go deeper and do better. Also, she did a storytelling class with Ferene Paris Meyer and Alison Segar where a video was made from an I am from poem she created. Below is the video and poem transcript.
I am from a city I adore and miss dearly. I adore how love is the heart of the city with festivals and parades that bring everyone together to celebrate diverse communities such as a Black street festival of creative works of dance, art, and more rooted in deep appreciation of Black culture and artistry. I miss subway jamming sessions of jazz and r&b with soulful beats and street performers dancing and reciting moving poetry. I adore and miss the buzz of cars, public transportation, people moving through the city streets with bits of laughter and joy of being present with loved ones and new acquinces. I adore and miss the simple things like stuffed pretzels and main chain eateries like Popeyes with spicy crunchy chicken and honey biscuits that melt your mouth.
I am from a place that is vibrant with enriched culture and perspective. When driving through the city the culture of people are reflected through Asian and African markets, street vendors selling oils and butters, corner stores playing Latinx beats and reggaeton music. When walking through different areas, you will see multicultural communities - Fishtown (Irish, German, and Polish communities), Hunting Park (mix of Black and Latinx), South (mix of Asians and Italians), and more. Even within the subsections of the city BIPOC, white, queer, various social economic statuses, and people with disabilities live in close proximity and engage often.
I am from a heart-stopping and drop to the floor environment to dodge bullets. Family dinners being interrupted with pulsing bangs and my parents yelling ‘get on the floor now.’ Huddled on the floor with heavy breaths waiting for the bangs to stop. Long silence leading to calmer breaths and hugging each other tightly when we stand.
I am from ancestors that guide my path of resilience through adversity and growth to pursue a thriving mentality and life despite the oppressive structures that resententlessly strive to kill my being and joy. My cultural bloodline is a blend of 90% African (from Nigeria, Mali, Western Bantu Peoples, Benin Togo, Senegal, and Ghana) and 10% of European, Indigenous, and APIDA ethnicities. This cultural blend has a story of resilience where we experience many adversities and growth points. Some adversities include colonization and enslavement. My growth is learning from my ancestors’ lived experiences and using the awareness to forge ripples of social change over my lifetime that inspire future generations to do the same in their own way.
I am from heartbreaking experiences of trauma that light my path to inspire ripples of change on individual and collective levels. Trauma, my heart and mind are heavy reflecting on trauma I experience being a Black, plus-sized, woman for 27 years. From grade school to adulthood being told I would be deserving of love and valued more within the Black community and everywhere else if my hair wasn’t so nappy, if my curves were more refined, if my skin wasn’t so dark, if I was more quiet, if I was less honest, if I did not care so much, and so. Somehow during these 27 years through ongoing trauma I have built and progressed a light where people and organizations such as family, friends, strangers, consulting clients, etc. feel a warmth of love and realness that motivates them to do better. My trauma informs my care and accountability to boldly having the hard conversations about various forms of hatred (racism, ableism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and more) along with envisioning and proactively implementing liberation on personal and institutional levels through developing and facilitating heartfelt dialogues, meaningful assessments, and root-centered capacity-building opportunities.
I am from Philly where my soul centering need for being surrounded and involved with diverse people, communities, and experiences was developed. Also, I am from a lifelong journey of learning, unlearning, and relearning what it means to be liberated, my true self uninterrupted, in a city that further nurtures my soul centering needs.
Inclosing, self-work surrounding social justice is a life-long journey. People, culture, and social movements are not stagnant. Therefore, how we do this work should shift and expand overtime as well. Even though self-work enfolds a ton of individual aspects that does not exempt us from doing this journey intentionally with others. So, with self-work, we should find ways to collectively work on awareness, action, and reflection. Lastly, self-work could be described as a life-long marathon where we learn intersectional and inclusive methods, train on individual and collective levels to actualize those methods, and rest to be and recenter our efforts. What meaningful self-work are you going to pursue?
References
Buildingallies.org. (2019, n.d.). Welcome. Buildingallies.org. https://www.buildingallies.org/
McNutt, S. (2019). Free Your Energy: The path to freedom, mental clarity and a life of enjoyment. Success Is A Choice LLC.
Paulus, N. (2020, January 24). What is self-work? Nicolepaulus.com. https://nicolepaulus.com/blog/2019/1/22/what-is-self-work