Reflections on Intent and Impact

I have spent the last several days reflecting about ACPA. The July Leadership Meeting (JLM) was an amazing few days with ACPA leaders. We were energized, unified, and positive about our Association's vision. We focused on concepts of leading, amplifying, mobilizing, and partnering (LAMP), and I sensed a true excitement about our future.

We also talked about the importance of our core values, including equity and inclusion, and we participated in a two-hour training and development program about social justice, specifically for the bias incident response protocol. Ironically, when we were all participating in this program, we did not know that very soon our actions would communicate institutional racism to our members and the external community. Although no one intended harm, that was the impact.

As background, the 2015 planning team selected Laverne Cox as the closing speaker for the Tampa Convention, recognizing her work as an advocate for transgender people, which preceded her Emmy nomination for acting in the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black. Once the contract was signed, marketing ideas and communications were developed. This work was done by convention volunteers and staff in our International Office. When announced, many ACPA members expressed enthusiasm and excitement, and they retweeted and shared the marketing promotion announcing Laverne Cox. More than 24,000 people viewed the initial Facebook post, and almost 28,000 have viewed the subsequent apology.

Many people looked at this marketing promotion before it was released—people who I believe are dedicated to equity and inclusion and other core values of ACPA. Despite this, the fact remains that no one picked up on the intersectionality of race, gender identity, and class, as well as other dimensions (e.g., incarceration) attached to the promotional tweet and Facebook post prior to releasing it. Instead, with the popular series Orange is the New Black as the inspiration, there was excitement about creating a provocative message in a very crowded and competitive marketplace.

A complex lens of equity and inclusion should have been the first and most important lens through which to examine our marketing messages, but clearly it was not. The impact was that our members experienced the tweet and post as marginalizing and, for some members, intentionally insensitive. Our public apology, while sincere, included deficit-based language about transgender people, which further reveals institutionalized bias. Because of previous insensitivity and harm experienced in ACPA, members view these public communications as new examples of a persistent pattern that has not been corrected. It is clear that we have work to do as an Association and as individual members and leaders. I certainly know that I have more work to do myself.

At the closing for the JLM meeting, I apologized to Association leaders for what had occurred, but apologies often follow situations that leave people feeling hurt and marginalized. Apologizing is not enough. The tweet and Facebook post that announced Laverne Cox as our speaker landed hard on the hearts and minds of our members, colleagues, friends, and community. Nelson Mandela said that individuals have the responsibility to make the world a better place one small step at a time. We must now identify the concrete steps needed to affect change in ACPA, but to do this, we need to understand what change looks like for the people who have been impacted and hurt by experiences of marginalization in our Association. Working with others, I am doing my best to help our Association address the impact we caused. Here are a few ideas that have emerged after engaging with members who have given their feedback and suggestions. My hope is that these and other actions, which we hope to identify through ongoing dialogue and interaction with members, can help move ACPA forward in ways that will change us for the better. I welcome your continued feedback, advice and recommendations. The ongoing dialogue is important and necessary.

• Launch a community dialogue feature in a visible place on the ACPA website to help facilitate an ongoing and active conversation within the Association.
• Revise communications processes for Convention and ACPA and ensure that the Convention Chair, ACPA Executive Director, Director of Equity and Inclusion, and a small group of members representing intersecting marginalized and privileged groups review and critique communications prior to their mass release.
• Develop a variety of listening circles or posts that can serve as the Association’s “ears” across the membership for issues of equity and inclusion, broaden dialogue, and be sustainable over time. This would be one intentional way of addressing what some members believe is a disconnect between leadership and membership around social justice awareness and competency. It should be a regular discussion item at every Governing Board and entity group meeting meeting.
• Institute an ongoing training program led by outside experts for Governing Board, entity group leaders, and convention volunteers focused on institutionalized racism and intersectionality that is also based on ACPA’s own metrics.
• Change ACPA nominations/elections process and ACPA Bylaws to ensure a more diverse representation in ACPA leadership, especially in the most senior leadership roles—President, Vice-President, and other Governing Board members; Foundation Trustees; and Assembly leadership roles. 

While ACPA members who have been most impacted already know plenty about privilege, institutionalized racism, and other forms of marginalization, this may not be true for all members. Each of us, no matter how we identify, has internalized biased beliefs and stereotypes from living in our society. Sadly, there is no organization that is free from bias. Therefore, it is not enough that we state our intentions, our efforts, or simply acknowledge our bias; we must also ask the question: “How complicit are we in the many forms of institutionalized bias and marginalization that occur within our organization?”

When we are complicit, we are all hurt as individuals, and ACPA suffers as an organization as well. Institutionalized racism and other forms of marginalization negatively affect the function of any organization by damaging the self-respect of members, causing divisiveness, and creating pessimism. A heightened state of awareness for each of us might mean that we are able to ask ourselves about how our biases affect the way we think about others, how we behave, and how we recognize and knowingly condone the marginalization of others.

Over our history as an Association, ACPA has worked to create equity and inclusion for all people; yet, we have failed many times, including this past week. The elimination of bias and marginalization is an ongoing process that requires enduring attention and honest diligence. Executive Director Cindi Love has said that she believes ACPA is at the "conforming and affirming" stage of organizational development despite our 90-year history and increased awareness of injustices and the benefits of diversity and inclusion. We will continue to fall short of our values and vision unless we commit to true diligence in action.

Before ending this post, I would like to share a few of my own personal reflections. It is not easy for me to admit this, but initially I wanted to absolve myself by explaining that I was not involved in developing marketing plans and did not see the offensive tweet or Facebook posting before released. That was wrong of me, as I cannot deny my responsibility. As a person with privilege (e.g., white, male, heterosexual, upper-middle class, able-bodied, and cisgender) and as the President of ACPA, I am responsible, at least in part. As you might imagine, there have been very few times in my life where I have personally experienced marginalization. I am honored to have served in numerous leadership roles within ACPA over the past two decades, but truthfully, I probably need this Association more than it needs me. Through ACPA, I continue to learn about privilege and marginalization, which is helping me to be more effective in my work and as a leader on my campus. The more I learn, the greater my realization that there is so much more I don’t know or fully understand. I do not claim to know the experiences of others, but I believe it is my responsibility to be critically aware of my social identities and their impact, to listen to the experiences of others, and to partner with others to create inclusive spaces, policies and practices.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have been in communication with ACPA staff and leadership over the past several days. Your words, though sometimes hard to hear, have both challenged and inspired us to look more deeply within ourselves and pledge to do more and do better. I want you to know that I believe strongly in ACPA’s future. I have confidence that each of us wants to do better, to commit to new and deep learning and to realize our great potential. Each of us has the capacity to make a difference for each other, our students and our world. Together, we are strong. We are ACPA.