Living Collaboratively in a Post-DEI World
Ever since 2020, I've been seeing and lamenting it: most "diversity and inclusion" efforts end up being little more than compliance theater. And at the same time, the backlash against diversity and inclusion has dismantled and defeated much of the praxis.
Yet so many of us still seek a pathway forward; one that is based on trust, collaboration, and solidarity across difference- be it race, ethnicity, culture, class, or intersections of personal identity.
Many DEI initiatives, as we knew them, suffered from the fatal flaw of performativism. Leaders nodded their heads, checked boxes, but little lasting structural change ensued, and when the societal winds changed direction, it was all too easy to jettison many initiatives as “experiments.“
Worse yet, a lack of entrenched dedication to inclusion and equity made it too easy for leaders and organizations to revert, as we moved further away from what I ruefully refer to as the "George Floyd Global Contrition World Tour."
Companies, organizations, and — saddest of all, people — moved away from these values. It was too much effort... "are we there yet?"
“I have diversity fatigue."
"Could we please change the subject?"
Promising partnerships and collaborations crumbled, diversity and inclusion initiatives, already under-resourced, were backgrounded, and in the saddest instances, the practitioners were cast aside, often under the criticism that they had not been able to "bring change."
But We Cannot Go On Like This
In 2026, we all see it: the racial fracture in America is more severe than ever. It is very taxing to be a bridger! But I have been given both the blessing and the challenge of an open heart and a pluralistic perspective.
Indeed, this season of political and social degradation is a tragedy. I’ve witnessed dismissal from some Black women for those of us who even bother to engage in white or mixed spaces socially (many white people are pretty ignorant of the degree of disillusionment and distrust that is out there), and I’ve overheard vicious words from white people unaware they’re speaking to or emailing a Black woman (me).
This is the human cost of disconnection and anger and spite. It’s so bad.
We need healing. We need solidarity. That’s what I choose every day.
And Values are Not Line-Items, So We Don't Just Put them in the Garage
The ills of our society that were so deeply felt in 2020 and 2021 did not dissipate into thin air in 2023 and 2024. If anything, they got much more acute.
But what can help us all is a refreshed approach.
And so, gathering what I had learned, earned, curated, observed, and hoped for, I am building a new praxis for Brave Sis Project called Brave Sis SAIN et SAUF™.
Sustainable, Authentic, Inclusive, Nurturing Solidarity and Unity Framework.
This methodology consolidates the practice and centers the historical lessons of the Foremothers (Brave Sis Project’s sectorial-distinctive BIPOC women’s history and storytelling lens), making it distinct from other "diversity" plays.
This is the approach upon which our signature curriculum, "Unengaged to Ally, Advocate to "Sister," our #SistoryLessons series and all our other offerings are based.
Beneath the excitement and celebration of sharing stories of too-little-known Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous she-roes (the topic of my Nautilus-award-winning book), is the foundational truth: when we honor and learn from those who are "different" from us (across lines of race, class, ethnicity, geography, and even time — that's the topic of my next book, in progress), we can shift our mindsets and hearts towards deeper collaboration and solidarity.
Brave Sis SAIN et SAUF™ (French for "safe and sound") is our living framework. It prioritizes internal shifts over external performance. Using tools I've created such as The Allyship Continuum™—a clear roadmap from disengagement to deep solidarity—and other frameworks like the The P-Petals (Power) Framework™ , and the Eleven-Headed Hydra of Oppression™ (you'll see these and others in the curriculum), I've gathered this wisdom and enhanced it with stories and inspiration from the Foremothers.
The result is an "equity" or "diversity" or "solidarity" (choose your words) approach that allow us to move beyond surface-level conversations and actions, jettison white fragility, choose authentic partnership over performative nonsense, and free Black and other BIPOC folks from carrying all the emotional labor.
At the same time, it invites ALL of us to interrogate the internalized bias and out-group distancing and "othering" that keeps us all from our higher selves and better communities and society.
It's my literal calling to position the work in this way.
The purpose of it all is to help us better understand power without shame, change attitudes in order to shift systems, and gain actual tools for navigating privilege, power, and difference. Everything is grounded in historical context, honoring the Foremothers who paved the way while building sustainable practices for real world-changing.
Enough with performative allyship and (mostly white) people declaring themselves "allies." #LearnToEarn the designation!
This isn't another box of training. It's a transformational journey designed for individual use in intimate, growing personal space - or - group-work with guided facilitation.
It's for white women, women of color, gender expansive folks, men, and organizations ready to move from performance to partnership—one brave conversation at a time.
SAIN et SAUF™ is an engaging, uplifting, and affirming way to continue our march towards (re)building trust and restoring the world we believe in.
Sustainable, Authentic, Inclusive, Nurturing Solidarity and Unity Framework.
Read the PHILOSOPHY OVERVIEW and Contact me at hello@bravesis.com to explore more.