Being a Black woman doing justice at the intersections of politics and policy is a complicated experience, but not one I would trade for anything else. Being in this space required me to find my “North Star” early on, and forced me to hone my determination, passion, and resilience into results.
Growing up in this profession I have had to navigate people and institutions in order to move them along. In an area filled of passionate people all convinced that they are on the right side of the issues, I could not simply have ideas and convince people to join me, but instead needed to get in the trenches and do the work. I chose to focus on my work products because I recognized that substantive expertise was often missing, and that those who had it often lacked perspective and lived experience. For instance, people stake their careers on advocating for policies on living wages and bail reform ad nauseum, but had never raised a child on a retail wage or ever posted bail for a loved one. Ultimately, my embrace of my status as the only one at the table led me to synchronize my “North Star” with my value add.
This alignment ultimately gave me leverage to make room for more of us. After all, you can’t change organizations without recognizing your power, but I learned that power isn’t always positional. A lot of my experience has meant being the only Black person at the table, and then fighting like hell to no longer be the only one. It sometimes has meant that the second one I have fought so hard for will not be on my side, and learning that that is okay because my North Star does not allow me to leave anyone behind.
I have lived the truth that being a Black woman at the table comes with a tremendous duty to represent. This means living your values both amongst the “safety” of allies and partners, but also to those on the “other side.” Engaging in social justice work as a Black woman has required my paying particular attention to internal dynamics and culture of organizations. I have not been able to enjoy the liberty of “just doing the [external] work.” As part of the experience is learning how to navigate microaggressions, and call-in (not out) overt racism. I have learned to intentionally exhibit grace and empathy to show compassion and solidarity, but to have those tough conversations, because everyone is on a justice journey and we all have blind spots.
I learned that decision points between doing what is best for you, and doing what aligns with your values comes into conflict more often than I ever imagined, and that doing what justice requires (or what is right) is almost always at greater expense than choosing to go along to get along. Along the way I have had to make tough decisions on whether to call attention to injustice, and developed a strategy for how to pick my battles.
Most importantly, doing this work has allowed me to truly understand that the only way I have been able to learn these lessons is because I have the privilege of doing social justice as a Black woman. That is an experience and perspective that most will never be able to attain, and I truly would not trade it.
by: Portia Allen-Kyle
#whyracestillmatters
Why.Race.Still.Matters 
Reflections from a Black Woman Doing Social Justice
Being a Black woman doing justice at the intersections of politics and policy is a complicated experience, but not one I would trade for anything else. Being in this space required me to find my “North Star” early on, and forced me to hone my determination, passion, and resilience into results.
Growing up in this profession I have had to navigate people and institutions in order to move them along. In an area filled of passionate people all convinced that they are on the right side of the issues, I could not simply have ideas and convince people to join me, but instead needed to get in the trenches and do the work. I chose to focus on my work products because I recognized that substantive expertise was often missing, and that those who had it often lacked perspective and lived experience. For instance, people stake their careers on advocating for policies on living wages and bail reform ad nauseum, but had never raised a child on a retail wage or ever posted bail for a loved one. Ultimately, my embrace of my status as the only one at the table led me to synchronize my “North Star” with my value add.
This alignment ultimately gave me leverage to make room for more of us. After all, you can’t change organizations without recognizing your power, but I learned that power isn’t always positional. A lot of my experience has meant being the only Black person at the table, and then fighting like hell to no longer be the only one. It sometimes has meant that the second one I have fought so hard for will not be on my side, and learning that that is okay because my North Star does not allow me to leave anyone behind.
I have lived the truth that being a Black woman at the table comes with a tremendous duty to represent. This means living your values both amongst the “safety” of allies and partners, but also to those on the “other side.” Engaging in social justice work as a Black woman has required my paying particular attention to internal dynamics and culture of organizations. I have not been able to enjoy the liberty of “just doing the [external] work.” As part of the experience is learning how to navigate microaggressions, and call-in (not out) overt racism. I have learned to intentionally exhibit grace and empathy to show compassion and solidarity, but to have those tough conversations, because everyone is on a justice journey and we all have blind spots.
I learned that decision points between doing what is best for you, and doing what aligns with your values comes into conflict more often than I ever imagined, and that doing what justice requires (or what is right) is almost always at greater expense than choosing to go along to get along. Along the way I have had to make tough decisions on whether to call attention to injustice, and developed a strategy for how to pick my battles.
Most importantly, doing this work has allowed me to truly understand that the only way I have been able to learn these lessons is because I have the privilege of doing social justice as a Black woman. That is an experience and perspective that most will never be able to attain, and I truly would not trade it.
by: Portia Allen-Kyle
#whyracestillmatters
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