Brave Sis Project Solidarity Lab: A Celebratory and Growth-Oriented Practice for a “Post-DEI” World

 BRAVE SIS PROJECT SOLIDARITY LAB 

A Celebratory and Growth-Oriented Practice for a “Post-DEI” World

Brave Sis Project Solidarity Lab is where participants learn and apply "SAIN et SAUF", a Sustainable, Authentic, Inclusive and Nurturing Solidarity and Unity Framework that preserves energy, honors truth, and makes space for real transformation for the long haul.

Who this is for

• BIPOC folks who are tired of extraction, code-switching, and unpaid emotional labor, and want practices that protect their energy and center their voices.

• White folks who are ready to do their own learning, metabolize discomfort without centering their feelings, and build stamina for lifelong anti-racist practice.

• Leaders, facilitators, and teams who want a structured, humane way to hold hard conversations and rebuild trust in a "post-DEI" climate.

What SAIN et SAUF means

This approach is rooted in:

• Challenging default narratives about women in history and shifting awareness about whose stories and legacies matter.

• Engendering resilience in times of deep fracture, while providing tools for resistance and inspiration.

• Providing tools for trust-based collaboration—helping allies take meaningful action and supporting BIPOC women in navigating complex allyship spaces, while removing the burden of "explaining" and "labor" from BIPOC individuals in mixed-race spaces.

SAIN et SAUF offers a sustainable, authentic, and inclusive approach for people across identities to unlearn extractive patterns, build new habits, and persist. 

S = SUSTAINABLE

Preserve your energy, spirit, wellbeing, and ability to stay in the work for the long haul.

• For BIPOC folks: You don't have to answer every question. You can set boundaries without guilt, and rest is part of the work.

• For white folks: You do your own learning instead of extracting from BIPOC colleagues, and you build stamina to stay engaged without burning out.

• For everyone: You build practices that can last decades, prioritizing collective care over martyrdom or saviorism.

A = AUTHENTIC

Everyone shows up as their whole self—no code-switching, no respectability performance, no pretending you have it all figured out.

• For BIPOC folks: You use your real voice, share actual stories, and name harm even when it's uncomfortable.

• For white folks: You admit what you don't know, name discomfort without asking others to manage it, and acknowledge mistakes honestly.

• For everyone: You honor cultural practices and show up with integrity, not performance.

I = Inclusive

Center voices that have been historically excluded, minimized, or tokenized, and redistribute power as you push beyond superficial representation.

• For BIPOC folks: Your (our) voices are centered, your silence is honored as processing, and you don't have to perform to be heard.

• For white folks: You monitor and reduce airtime, amplify BIPOC voices without talking over them, and create space by stepping back.

• For everyone: You design structures that transform who speaks, who is believed, and how decisions are made.

N = NURTURING

Nurturing means creating conditions for healing, growth, relationship, and sustainability. 

• For BIPOC folks: You don't have to be perfect or have all the answers. You allow yourself rest, mistakes, and the full range of your emotions. You celebrate our shared legacy across communities and draw learning and inspiration from the Foremothers.

• For white folks: You can be a learner without requiring praise for learning. You accept correction without crumbling. You hold accountability and self-compassion together. You celebrate your learning and draw inspiration from the Foremothers.

• For everyone: You create brave space, not just safe space. You allow for mistakes while holding people accountable. You recognize that transformation is messy and nonlinear. You celebrate the inspiration from the Foremothers.

+ SOLIDARITY AND UNITY FRAMEWORK

This approach is grounded in solidarity (working WITH, not working FOR) and unity (recognizing our interconnection across difference). This is a pathway to rebuild communities and norms based in trust, mutuality, and justice.

• For BIPOC folks: You build coalitions across marginalized identities. You recognize how oppressions are interconnected. You don't have to carry this alone.

• For white folks: You practice solidarity, not charity or saviorism. You show up as an accomplice, not a hero. You understand that your liberation is bound up with everyone else's.

• For everyone: You understand that we're in this together. No one is free until we're all free. Unity across difference doesn't mean sameness—it means recognizing our shared stake in collective liberation.

INSPIRED BY PARTNERISM

SAIN et SAUF is inspired by many practitioners and influences, but I want to specifically name Riane Eisler's Partnerism framework, which distinguishes between two models. She is one of my favorite "elders"!

DOMINATION MODEL	PARTNERSHIP MODEL
Power OVER others	Power WITH others
Hierarchies of domination	Hierarchies of actualization
Fear-based control	Mutual respect
Win-lose	Win-win

Traditional DEI often resides in the "domination" space, just shuffling the deck regarding whose on top. But SAIN et SAUF is a partnership model, based on my years of lived experience navigating, interrogating, and reconsidering the traditional power structures of our Westernized ("Global North") paradigms. 

HOW SAIN ET SAUF DIFFERS FROM TRADITIONAL DEI

ASPECT	TRADITIONAL DEI	SAIN ET SAUF
Goal	Representation & inclusion	Liberation & power redistribution
Focus	Individual bias	Systemic oppression
Approach	Add diverse faces to existing systems	Transform the systems themselves
Power	Leaves power structure intact	Redistributes power
Accountability	To organization/leadership	To impacted communities
Facilitator Role	Expert delivering content	Co-creator holding space
Comfort	Centers white comfort	Centers BIPOC liberation
Timeline	One-time training	Ongoing practice

 

Together, we can reflect, refine, and realize change through structured dialogue, mindset-shifting inner work, and real-life application that honors both individual wellbeing and collective transformation. 

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