Belonging is “the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” (Brown, 2021)
In this episode of the Giving Black Podcast I am joined by two of my dearest sister-friends Nneka Allen, CFRE, COC, PCC, Founder of The Empathy Agency and Múthoní Karíukí HBSc, MPNL, CFRE.
We tell the story of what happened when we were each invited to join a non-profit governing board of a powerful fundraising association that aimed to tokenize our participation as Black people. This experience is powerfully shared by Nneka in her University of British Columbia lecture, Us and Them.
How can everyone be powerful? Here is a question that challenges us to consider the existence and experiences of others, inviting us to contrast them with our own. It can inspire the expansion of our beliefs, deepen our understanding and grow our connections, and ultimately inspire us towards manifesting greater equity and justice in our work and lives.
Belonging is a fundamental human desire like love. And the relationship between belonging and culture is intimate.“More than anything, culture creates a sense of belonging…” (Menakem, 2015). Humans need to belong to live meaningful, healthy and wholehearted lives. In the pursuit of equity, belonging must be the outcome for everyone to thrive in an integrated society.
In the first of this two-part recording, we lay out the problem inherently present within an unaccepting organization. In the second part of the conversation, we share some solutions to the challenges of tokenism, and a lack of belonging.
What prevents us all from belonging? Why don’t more belonging environments exist for Black people on boards? Listen to this episode to gain answers to these critical questions.
Also check out the Black Canadian Fundraisers' Collective mentioned in this episode.