The following realization is absolutely too real to keep inside. As a woman of African descent in Silicon Valley’s tech ecosystem researchers have found my story particularly research worthy. They want to know how I survived and thrived. Here’s the truth...
Growing up in poverty I experienced extreme levels of trauma, that I learned to cope with through something I consider to be a form of spiritual and mental projection. This practice allows me to redirect energy and consciousness that would experience pain to growth areas instead.
Researchers would call this a growth mindset - I believe my circumstances can improve because I believe my abilities can improve which can directly affect my circumstances. Another term researchers used was “grit”, which is used to describe a persevering strength of character.
These characteristics are frequently discovered in people who succeed in the face of great hardship despite gender, race, sexual identity, or difference of ability or disability. Researchers always erroneously abstract the intersectional impacts of race and gender from my profile
The exclusion of race & gender is extremely problematic because growth mindset and grit don’t necessarily manifest within individuals for every circumstance they face. For example, Several times I have nearly drowned and was rescued by a life guard. I’ve never taken swim lessons.
My never taking swim lessons would run contrary to my profile of growth mindset and grit, it shocks my friends that I find it so hard to put my feet in the water at a pool or the beach yet I will debate white nationalists and misogynists. So grit/growth mindset is selective.
When it comes to issues of race and gender inequity, I apply growth mindset belief not to myself, but to the people around me who are actively demonstrating bias, whether consciously or unconsciously. It is emotionally labor intensive, which is where grit really helps.
The way growth mindset/grit applies to the increasingly complex challenges of discrimination is critical to understand and help other marginalized people internalize. Because I have done it I am able to sit at tables & work side by side with people who demonstrate overt racism.
I have been able to navigate sexual harassment & assaults in a pre #metoo era both inside and outside the workplace without losing my shit, my job, my sanity, or my resolve to fix this broken system so my children will inherit something better than the world that was left to me.
So if you work with marginalized people, and you want to help them internalize practices that will truly make a difference in their life, make sure you teach growth and grit with the appropriate context for use with discriminatory racial and sexual trauma.
Teach them that their skin, hair, language, education level and gender is not the problem, it’s others ignorance, lack of education that is the problem and those people CAN CHANGE and many of them WILL CHANGE eventually under the right circumstance, so stay gritty! Persevere!!!
I passed these lessons onto my daughter during her 7th grade year of school and it was critical. If you need help passing this onto adults or youth let me know as I am happy to help. Live smart & be great yall. PEACE! ✌🏾 ☮️ ❤️ <fin>
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