I recently returned from the NADOHE (National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education) Conference in Baltimore and was energized beyond belief by the amazing work being done by colleagues all across the country in the face of an all-out assault on DEI work. One of the most memorable experiences was an incredibly inspiring and insightful keynote address by author and activist Ijeoma Oluo. Her books " So You Want to Talk About Race" and " Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America " are must reads. During her keynote, she shared a number of questions that drive her work and allow her to focus on what really matters. One of the questions she posed that really struck me was "who gets my time?".
Oluo went on to state that if she is spending more time fighting white supremacy than uplifting her own people, then something has gone very wrong. I have found myself reflecting on this question quite a bit in the last few days as I unpack it's true significance. Higher education professionals and DEI professionals alike are asked to do quite a bit. These positions serve as professional Swiss army knives, expected to have a tool for every job. It's perhaps ironic that in the academy, where specificity is often the key to success for academics, the expectation to be everything for everyone abounds on the staff side of the house.
As we get asked to do more and more in more areas, often because our areas are understaffed, the requests for time just keep coming. The requests for our time often betray the motives of the people requesting our time. These motives are often less about centering culture change through the needs of marginalized peoples', and more about performative allyship and the power of image. I'm realizing more and more that when someone asks for my time, it's important that they know what they want and that whatever it is aligns with my values. If it doesn't, then they probably shouldn't get my time.
Fighting against something is not the same as fighting for something. We often get so caught up in responding, that we forget how to act for what we believe in. When we spend all of our time reacting, we don't have any energy left to do the work that truly fuels us and conveys the importance of what we are fighting for. Sure, there will always be people that get your time simply by virtue of the hierarchy we are all a part of, but beyond that, we have choices.
It's ok to say no sometimes. One of the benefits of working in higher education is the opportunity to be surrounded by brilliant colleagues with diverse and interwoven interests. Just because you decide someone doesn't get your time because it doesn't align with what you are working towards doesn't mean there isn't someone next door for whom that time/priority alignment happens. We do well to work to build meaningful relationships with those around us so we have a sense of who gets their time as well.
So, who gets your time today?