Guiding Principles
Anti-Blackness and other forms of marginalization are woven through life in the U.S. To make a difference, look for and pull at these threads.
Evidence does not create change; change creates evidence.
Your difference is your superpower.
Speak hard truths clearly, but do so kindly.
Be willing to change and be changed.
Progress is better than perfection.
To make a difference, look for and pull at the threads of anti-Blackness and other marginalization.
When racial discrimination and segregation became illegal in the US, the factors that led to (and resulted from) discrimination did not suddenly correct themselves. Often these factors simply became harder to spot. As long as we can still observe segregation and marginalization around us, there is a lingering reason, and an equitable society needs to find and address the cause.
Even without discriminatory intent, aspects of racism and other -isms are self-perpetuating. Think of it like this: the officials cheated, but then–after reestablishing fairer rules–the action just re-started where it was. Since there was no effort to make things right, the effects of legal discrimination are still with us.
After missing hundreds of years of wealth-building rights, is it any wonder US Black households have a median of $24,000 in assets, compared with a median of $189,000 for US white households?
Whenever the ability to pay determines access to one of the basic essentials in life (a decent place to live without regular exposure to toxins, for example), look for differences in who has access and who does not. The results will probably be linked to historic marginalization. Look for ways to shift the system to make it right.
Marginalization is also built right into the structures around us. Are there low bridges on a road’s overpasses? It might be to restrict who could travel there – no bus passage means none of the people who rely on the bus. Access limitations don’t have to be intentional though. Visiting many places–especially historic sites–was too risky for my father, a double amputee. He needed to limit his life to the places that remembered that people like him exist. People with visible or invisible disabilities continue to limit their lives–or fight constantly to be present.
Whether reviewing policies, budgets, or building plans, decisionmakers need to look specifically at who may benefit and who may be left out. Smart and timely adjustments to bring benefits and full access to the people who are otherwise life out… They don’t just change who gets access, they expand it.
Evidence does not create change; change creates evidence.
On both the research and policymaking sides, the idea of being evidence-based has a lot of traction–as it should–but sometimes an emphasis on evidence can go too far. If we only enact policies that have already been studied and proven effective, we will enact very little and will never learn if new approaches will work. Despite being far from the intent of evidence-based policymaking, supporting only programs or policies that have already been tested and found effective is a common mistake made by both researchers and data-driven policy folks.
The Evidence-Based Policymaking Collaborative’s principles paper describes an approach that builds more knowledge about what works, as well as using the evidence we already have. Building more knowledge is especially needed, but is often overlooked both by those seeking effective approaches and by those making change.
Ideas that rise up from affected communities are often grounded in their lived expertise. These are perfect opportunities to try something new, document it, assess the results, and build more knowledge–and more ways to communicate existing knowledge.
The way to build new evidence is to be the first to try something. The initial spark can come from someone with decades of experience and positional authority, but it may also come from a new or junior member of a team who has an insight and just can’t sit still until it gets acted on. Too often society misses these opportunities because the response to a vision is “who else has done this?” not “how will we see if it works?”
Bold, risk-taking, mission-driven visionaries create change. Proponents of evidence-based policymaking or data-driven decisions will ideally be open to letting change-makers do their work exactly as envisioned, while a research team follows along to study and share the results.
Your difference is your superpower.
In other words, don’t hold back your ideas just because you aren’t sure if they would be welcome. When we only talk to or work with people who have similar ways of thinking and similar skillsets, the outcome is weak. What happens when researchers only talk to each other? When policy folks are all politics…or ignore politics completely?
Similarly, getting better housing and equitable communities requires all kinds of people, insights, and skills. It doesn’t matter if you are a tenant, a homeowner, a landlord, a developer, a planner, a community organizer, a funder, or not part of the usual housing universe at all. If you want better results for communities and people, you have something to contribute. I want to bring you into the fold (or be welcomed into yours) so we can find out how to do more by working together.
Speak hard truths clearly, but do so kindly.
Some truths are both hard to hear and hard to deliver. However, a failure to communicate usually makes things worse. So, speak hard truths as if you were on the receiving end of the message. How would you want to learn this? Maybe with a sense of compassion or perhaps a willing partner in moving forward to something better.
When a policy or program is causing harm, we should not keep quiet. Neither should we keep quiet if we see issues in a proposed solution that may make it fail. But we also need to recognize that the people who need to hear these sorts of truths are people–and they have emotions, egos, and backstories just like the rest of us. So, speak up and keep speaking up, but start by assuming good or at least neutral intent. It may help your message be received and acted on.
Be willing to change and be changed.
This principle is the flipside of speaking hard truths clearly but kindly. Sometimes we are the ones who need to listen and change. When we are willing to enter conversations with open minds, ears, and hearts, the conversations will be more meaningful.
Life is not a debate. Communities and relationships are not about scoring points. We are here to support ourselves and each other–and to steward the resources around us so that the generations that follow can meet their needs, too. No one person can achieve this alone, so we need to be open with and learn from each other.
Progress is better than perfection.
Resources are not endless, but the need for resources seems to be. Opportunities frequently arise to address small pieces of what it will take to achieve housing justice, education justice, and more. While the ultimate goal may be much bigger than the small piece in front of you today, change rarely comes abruptly. Change happens through steady effort not a sudden flip. So, don’t miss the incremental opportunities while aiming for something bigger.
Leave space for rest and joy.
Mission-driven people need rest and joy just like everyone else. Those moments recharge us, allow our minds to process what we have been learning and doing, and help us build connections that we need. For reminders of the power of rest, I love The Nap Ministry.
Sometimes a project calls for long or weird hours. For me, that’s fine. When I am passionate and in the zone, an early morning or late night sprint feels amazing! But afterward, recovery is essential.
We do better for our communities and our values when we do better for ourselves.