Seemingly small moments of language choices carry BIG impact. The opportunity to be more inclusive presents itself in common everyday interactions.

The discomfort many non-Blacks feel around Black hairstyles stems from deeply ingrained biases about race, professionalism, and conformity.

I highly doubt that there isn’t anyone in the world who has ever avoided the feelings of being excluded. You know the ones. The ones that make you feel isolated, disrespected, not good enough, smart enough or something else enough. The ones that make you ask, “what’s wrong with me,” or “what did I do wrong?” These sentiments do not feel like the ones that come with common rejection that are simply a part of life i.e., not getting the job, not being accepted at your college of choice, or losing a sale to a competitor. It goes deeper and feels more personal.

There are times that we make honest mistakes that go from bad to worse when we don’t know how to respond. Have you ever congratulated a woman on her pregnancy only to be corrected that she is not expecting? The more you tried to explain yourself, the more the awkward the situation became. What about the time that you engaged in gossip about a coworker while in the rest room when surprisingly they emerged from a stall - hitting you with the realization that they heard every word? Perhaps you became defensive, shrugged it off or tried to apologize. The point is that the damage had already been done and you can’t undo it.

You may be familiar with the popular phrase “You can fool some of the people all the time. You can fool all the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.” I’m sure you’ve probably realized that those who practice fooling people will eventually be discovered for the fraud that they are and that the masquerade was not worth it in the end. The fact is that when it comes to issues of social and racial justice, there are those of us who would rather take the “fool people“ route than put in the work of creating equitable systems and cultures.