Greg Stowers
5 min readFeb 24, 2021

--

10am in Riverside

I took the time to actually look back through the journal over the past year. writing consistently was a huge step, but reading it back painted a solid picture of the past year. There were some obvious things, which I tried to describe in not so obvious ways, this general idea of “Getting it right” that remained a constant throughout the year and a few lines that were memorable (not because of the line, but the events surrounding them).

The history books have an interesting task ahead of them describing Covid-19 but living through it and recalling those initial days when we watched Contagion and I Am Legend to subconsciously prepare ourselves (oh, that was just me?) seems like a decade ago. There were national guard troops at my front doorstep and for a few days, things looked dicey because of a run on toilet paper. For all our development as a society, we’re a lot more fragile than we think.

In the middle of this, we saw the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. The jury is still out on the seismic shift we need as a society, but I hope people have stopped viewing racism through the lens of photos from the 60’s and understand those overt practices now manifest themselves in much more covert ways. If you’re reading this you’ve probably found yourself in target looking for books on racism, that’s admirable — but here’s a list prepared by author Marquis Bynum, that paints a vivid picture of things you didn’t learn in school.

Unlearning old ideas and promoting new ones was also big. I couldn’t see my friends, so we wet up zoom calls before we realized just how many zoom calls we’d have per day. I’ll take the blame for falling off (I’m assuming the data that’s going to come out on the problems with zoom calls is on the way), but a zoom call full of black men discussing topics unique to us — honestly kept me going. Looking back on some of the notes from our calls, there are numerous organizations that could benefit from just being a fly on the wall, but that kind of game isn’t for sale — you can certainly hit me up at Greg@liaisonconsulting.net if your organization needs ideas (a plug — not a shameless one)

From elected officials to young(er) professionals, we all struggle with this idea of “getting it right.” From a personal standpoint, I genuinely want to do a good job (seems so basic, but “simplicity provides a fine line between eloquence and plainness” — word to Sidney Shaw) but the idea of “getting it right,” is going to vary depending on who you ask. I saw it all summer and every time an organization made a “mistake” that highlighted more deeply rooted issues. “It” obviously varies across different spaces, but as opportunity continues to expand and new voices are highlighted, “getting it right” is going to push us in a number of uncomfortable ways. Trust — there is a non-negotiable here, specifically as it relates to this general idea of humanity:

“We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.”

James Baldwin

Ol’ James got some new fans this summer didn’t he?

The figurative power pendulum has swung, at least in a social sense. There are still numerous systemic issues that interrupt progress, but those from historically marginalized groups are playing the game much better. From office holders, who bring much needed life experience and perspective to the decision-making table to young people taking a shot at a grant process that has for so long seems elusive — it’s honestly exciting and overdue. The status quo helps the same people it’s always helped, but as opportunity continues to expand its incumbent upon leaders to expand their scope.

Sidenote: for those new leaders in positions of somewhat daunting responsibility — you’re there for a reason, so please afford yourself the same grace as your predecessors.

For those who have historically been in positions of power, there’s an opportunity here that’s so blatantly obvious, but long division was also incredibly obvious to damn near everyone except me; we all have our strengths. Competition has always made me better, so if that scares you, if others getting the same shot at success or opportunity scares you…

Getting it right has merit, but trying to adhere to shifting social norms has got to be exhausting. Communications departments earned their keep over this past year, but it’s bigger than just a statement or a social media post — It’s about understanding:

  1. We’re all a work in progress.
  2. The importance of creating a space whether personally or professionally that finds peace in accepting that uncomfortable truth.

There’s a space for honesty and sincerity that “getting it right” just doesn’t provide. As a society, we’ve become sensationalized in a way that doesn’t adequately allow for general redemption. A number of these people and organizations have undoubtedly made it harder on themselves to be redeemable (see non-negotiable above), but as Chappelle taught us…

If you wanna get to the bottom of anything or any of these issues that have been raised, its gonna require some honesty and some forgiveness

I’ve been forgiving people and systems all my life, so I’m still a work in progress in this regard. It’s a tough ask, in theory it sounds good — but there’s also a space for much needed accountability as well.

I’m sure books have been written with less content than what’s sitting in this notebook, but for now this is just a space for pretty intentional reflection. More writing over this past year, so big ups to you for reading. I’ll leave you with these:

Adulthood is the continued reassessment of how I deal with disrespect.

Recognizing past trauma is hard, but some of the most important work I’ll ever do — not just for me but those around me.

On a thousand different days, this goes a thousand different ways/Pregnant pauses/Starving artists/Wins and losses.

Giving canned food to people without can openers or Kraft Mac and Cheese to people without milk is trash

“I feel like we’ve been climbing the stairs so long, we’ve forgotten to look where they’re going” — Karla De La Garza

--

--