#29: It's time to talk more about race
A Q&A with campaigner and anti-racism consultant, Jon Cornejo Jara
Pass It On is a bi-weekly newsletter bringing the tech and non-profit sectors closer together through knowledge sharing, written and edited by Lauren Crichton.
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I love it when PiO readers introduce me to new and inspiring people. Thanks to Ettie Bailey-King, fellow subscriber and former guest, this week’s Q&A is with organiser, campaigner, and anti-racism consultant, Jon Cornejo Jara (he/they). Jon has led campaigns in the human rights sector, international development sector, refugee sector, and disability sector. They now work with charity and public sector clients across the UK to build anti-racist practice into their workplaces, seeking to help staff radically transform workplace culture. They are also an organiser with #CharitySoWhite, a grassroots collective that aims to tackle systemic racism within the UK charity sector.
Being ‘not racist’ is not the same as being ‘anti-racist.’ (For anyone unfamiliar with the distinction, the first five minutes of this TED interview with author and historian Ibram X. Kendi should help.) From my perspective, being anti-racist is about taking action and committing to change. Jon’s Q&A is both a testament and guide to doing just that. His answers are challenging and thought-provoking and just as applicable to tech companies as they are non-profits. If you feel some discomfort when reading this piece, that’s a good sign. That’s progress.
Talking more about race — with Jon Cornejo Jara
What is anti-racism, and what led you to specialise in it?
Anti-racism is about identifying and dismantling all systems and structures that maintain white supremacy within society. (Here, white supremacy refers to cultures that position white people and all that is associated with them as ideal.) To do that, you have to look closely at how racism is embedded across our shared ideologies and structures.
My journey towards anti-racism is deeply rooted in the power and strength I found in meeting other people of colour (POC) within the charity sector and working with them to build more equitable workplaces. It grew out of shared frustrations about feeling like outsiders. As a young queer Latin American person from a refugee background, I felt I stuck out like a sore thumb in the charity sector. To succeed at work, I found myself looking for ways to fit in, like taking on a more middle-class accent and pretending to like the shows and books that my colleagues enjoyed. I even adapted my work, too—prioritising my white colleagues' well-trodden campaign tactics and strategies over my own ideas and approaches. It was frustrating, especially as what brought me to campaigning was a drive to build a more just society.
After years of lobbying my respective employers for equity and diversity work and seeing little real change, I joined Charity So White (CSW) in 2019 to take a more cross-sector approach to tackling racism within our sector. As a grassroots collective working to centre the voices and experiences of POC within the charity sector, CSW drove leaders to take racism within their organisations seriously. We transformed the narrative around systemic racism and compelled many charity leaders to prioritise anti-racism work and transformative change.
How does white supremacy operate in the charity sector, and what impact is it having on both individuals and the workplace more broadly?
The charity sector is built upon white supremacist ideals and power structures in many ways. Consider the classic image of a starving Black child in a charity fundraising campaign. That image is a classic example of white saviourism: the idea that the presumed white audience has a duty to help lift this poor, helpless Black child out of poverty. At a more foundational level, the very wealth that the sector seeks to redistribute through fundraising and philanthropy is ultimately linked to colonial oppression: wealth extracted from countries around the world and put into the hands of powerful white men. While a lot has changed, these ideals and structures are still deeply ingrained within the very psyche of our sector.
We know that white middle-class people broadly dominate charities. We know that homogeneity is a problem across many of our workplaces. So what does white supremacy look like in the charity sector? It looks like all-white leadership teams, boards dominated by older white men, POC feeling isolated and like outsiders in the workplace, and those who do work to tackle systemic oppression being seen as troublemakers. It looks like the charity sector saying that they want to change and be more inclusive while continuing approaches that exclude POC and maintain a white status quo.
Why do white charity leaders need to talk more about race?
The charity sector exists broadly to change society and tackle injustice. These ideals very much drive people who work in the charity sector, and we often see ourselves as good because of the good work we do. Consequently, it can be hard to talk about what is going wrong in our organisations and how systemic injustice operates within our working cultures. It can feel like a personal attack—like we are being told that we are not good people. But if we are going to transform society and tackle injustice successfully, we must start by ensuring that our workplaces do not replicate systemic racism and other forms of oppression. Leaders must step up and make the space for these conversations.
How can leaders, non-profit and tech alike, create the right conditions for those conversations to arise, thrive, and result in impact?
Acknowledge that these conversations will be difficult. Ensure you continuously remind staff why anti-racism work is important and what the organisation will gain by doing it well. Encourage people to speak openly and honestly about their experiences and thoughts on how racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression operate within the organisation. With a scary proposition like this, people will always fear the repercussions of speaking out, so you'll need to go beyond saying "this is a safe space" and lead by example. That means you being honest about how racism operates in the workplace and identifying the problem openly—e.g., talking about why your all-white leadership team or board is a problem and why this prevents you from doing better work. When employees speak out, lift their voices—frame their contribution in a positive light and check in on them afterwards. They may well feel anxious and in need of reassurance.
You've previously said that communication teams have a "duty to lead the fight to build an anti-racist organisation and an anti-racist society." Why should comms teams have this responsibility, and how can they fulfil it?
Comms teams have a duty because they are responsible for how people perceive their organisation as well as its supporters and the communities it seeks to serve. When we talk about the harm that white saviour narratives and victimising imagery have done to communities of colour worldwide, comms functions are largely responsible for creating that content. So these teams need to start looking critically at their work and understand how white supremacy culture and systemic oppression seep into their methods and shape their creative output. And on top of that: they should collectively seek radical new approaches to creating narratives and content.
Tell us more about those approaches. How can an organisation build anti-racism into its brand, marketing, and communication?
Think carefully about what your brand and marketing output currently represents and who it may be excluding in the process. Is your white saviour narrative catering to white middle-class populations and alienating everyone else? How do you depict the voices of the communities you are working to support? Do they have agency over their own stories, or are they presented as waiting to be saved? These are tough questions, but it's a conversation that we absolutely must have as charity marketers.
The hard work starts when your brand starts reaching out to the communities it's not traditionally acknowledged or served. It's not enough to just market yourselves as progressive and represent communities of colour in a positive light—to put more diverse imagery on your website and call it a day. You have to be proactive in building relationships with new communities and audiences, engaging with them, and building their trust. You must show that you are committed to tackling systemic racism and creating a more just and equitable society.
How can the tech and non-profit sectors come closer together?
We need more partnerships. We need more opportunities for tech companies to help non-profits find ways to integrate technology into campaigns in new and exciting ways and develop better workflows that are fit for purpose.
I say 'fit for purpose' because I think the charity sector is biased towards the working practices of the business world, seeing them as inherently better and/or more efficient. Consequently, the tech sector has become the latest target for charity leaders seeking to implement “radical” new ways of working. Take Agile. We trialled it as a new way of working in a previous charity I worked for, and it was a train-wreck: the product cycle-driven approach simply didn't translate to campaigning or long-term change in the way that management had expected. Greater partnership would help address the bias and prevent these kinds of implementation failures.
Which three books (or other media) have had the most significant impact on you as a leader and why?
Critical Race Theory and "Moral Panic" by Carlos Maza — a video essay that breaks down anti-racism and explains why it's essential to look at the deep roots of systemic oppression. While the USA's Critical Race Theory debate might feel unrelatable to British readers, the UK's rising 'culture wars' narrative operates on similar dynamics. Both seek to maintain white supremacy and roll back the progress that anti-racism and equality activists have made over the years.
Social Constructs by Philosophy Tube — a powerful video from Abigail Thorn whose work consistently makes complicated philosophical concepts accessible and understandable.
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler — a very dense but incredibly impactful book from my time at university. Butler's ideas on performativity helped me see how I was performing masculinity and whiteness in the workplace and helped me reframe those performances to be more true to myself. This book has shaped who I am and how I analyse the world; it's been transformative for me.
More questions for Jon? 📥 jon@jmb-consulting.co.uk
Has anyone embraced these challenging conversations about race at their workplace? We’d love to hear more about your experiences and learnings:
As always, thanks for reading!
Lauren 👋