Reckoning.

Why this book?

As the new year began in 2025, many countries were dealingwith the rise of right-wing populism and the undermining of the rights of women and minorities. In the United States (US), women’s reproductive rights had been rolled back, university diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs were being shut down, global corporations were rolling back their commitments to DEI, and political leaders around the world were paying attention as “wokism” was under attack from Canada to France and the United Kingdom (UK). It seemed that we were moving backwards in time, with rights being taken away from women and decades of work on civil rights being dismantled. Conservative state governments in the US were taking up legislation that would take rights away from disabled and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

As I wrestled with what my next steps should be, I reminded myself that this was a perfect opportunity for taking action. I started writing regularly on my blog, doing interviews with the media and helping develop action plans with my connections on social media. That work has been the catalyst for creating a resource for others wanting to create change. This book examines how we can create change and highlights the changemakers at all levels, from individuals to organizations, government and the transnational level. The book starts in the next chapter with describing the ways we can create change. There are a variety of factors that impact change, and it’s important to understand the key components, as well as how change is impacted by the organizations and allies.

The first step on my own journey was working on my book, Radical Empathy. Radical empathy calls for a willingness to be vulnerable, acknowledge our own bias and to take action to create positive change. It is a concept I have to return to time and again, as folks ask for ways to approach issues like structural discrimination in a constructive manner. Although I called for change in the book, I realized there was a need to help people create their own blueprint for change. There is a need for finding more ways to address the systemic nature of the pushback against equity work amidst the regressive politics that is happening all around the world.

In this context, it is important to understand what role we as individuals can play in creating change. A friend asked me, what’s “radical” about radical empathy? I gave him my stock answer, which is that taking action and creating change through empathy are radical acts. It is not enough to have empathy during difficult times, as exemplified in this quote from Audre Lorde in a speech from 1982: “To refuse to participate in the shaping of our future is to give it up. Do not be misled into passivity, either by false security (they don’t mean me) or by despair (there’s nothing we can do). Each of us must find our work and do it.”

Audre Lorde’s words provide a call to action and a clear example of radical empathy. In this speech, Lorde also points out an important part of developing self-awareness, or as I would put it, being grounded in who you are, which is understanding the ways that we internalize bias and how it can damage our self-esteem. Having empathy for ourselves makes it easier to have empathy for others. Taking action is powerful when we can humanize and connect with others who we want to support.

In surveying the landscape on equal rights and change, it is important to understand that the work has always been there. The summer of 2020 was an important time for reckoning, as people recognized the injustice that was occurring around the murders of so many African Americans across the US. It is also important to understand that change is a process, and we will have moments when things are moving forward and moments whenit feels like nothing will ever change. It is important during these difficult times, in particular, to take a reckoning of where we are and where we need to go.