A Time for Hope in Action
The recent wave of unprecedented events has made it hard to keep up. Assassination attempt on a U.S. presidential candidate. Supreme Court decisions erode individual rights and federal regulatory power while strengthening presidential immunity. Ongoing legal and policy attacks against diversity programs, equity initiatives and socially responsible investments. Widespread heat waves alongside record breaking storms. Two wars grinding on with horrific casualties and destruction. Awful presidential debate between widely unliked candidates ending in an argument over who is the better golfer.
Earlier this week, my business partner Leslie forwarded a social media meme: Can we just go back to precedented times please?!
I needed the laugh considering all that has happened over the last few weeks. Amidst such crises, I have found that I initially tend to lose hope and disengage. Perhaps as a biological “freeze” defense mechanism.
But there’s too much at stake right now to do nothing. Now is the time for hope in action.
Hope alone is not a strategy. But as a verb, hope provides me with a belief in what is possible. Rather than seeing the current issues we face as impossible to solve, hope provides the optimism, clarity and strength to do something rather than nothing. A starting point to move beyond stasis.
I have hope for a healthy planet where everyone has what they need to thrive. If you’re still reading, you probably hope for this as well. And you may be asking how to convert the feeling of hope into action. While I don’t have the perfect formula, here are some steps that I take when feeling stagnant, alongside recent examples from my life:
Get proximate. When I am feeling cynical about the state of the world, one of many things I’ve learned through my work with White Men for Racial Justice (WMRJ) is to counteract my freeze response by getting proximate to those being harmed, disenfranchised, under-represented and under-resourced. By getting proximate, I mean literally showing up in diverse spaces and events to meet folks, listen, learn, volunteer and figure out how I can be useful and supportive.
Immerse yourself in community. As one example, I’m a cyclist and learned about Peace Peloton through an Instagram post. Peace Peloton was founded during covid to build a diverse community through organized bike rides designed to support businesses owned by Black Indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC).
I participated in a ride last summer that started with a tour of the Northwest African American Museum, a cultural treasure trove not to be missed. After the tour, we rode to Seattle’s Columbia City Night Market, a Peace Peloton program that attracts a wide variety of food trucks, beer garden, live music and other performing artists and artisans. I loved the vibe of the community!
Listen and learn about ways to contribute. After the Peace Peloton ride and a subsequent meeting with its founder, Doc Wilson, I was inspired to take more action by volunteering at the Columbia City Night Market, which happens every third Saturday throughout the year. The market is largely run by volunteers who do things like manage the information booth and beer garden during market hours, and also set-up and take down signs, booths, and lighting before and after each event.
After pitching in to support a few Night Markets, Doc invited me to be one of several facilitators supporting another Peace Peloton program, Rooted Growth Accelerator. The accelerator helps BIPOC owned packaged food businesses build and grow their companies through coaching around ideation, brand development, marketing, scaling, logistics, finance, etc.
We met last week where my role was to lead the current cohort of five food entrepreneurs through a learning module on budgeting and financial statements. It was fun to get to know the founders and hear about their journeys producing and selling wellness teas, lemonade, cookie dough, peach cobbler and nutritional sea moss. The meeting left me grateful for the experience and energized.
The business owners, all dynamic women of color, demonstrated grit and perseverance in bootstrapping their businesses from an idea to the realities of managing inventory, hiring their first employees and many other aspects of being a solopreneur. I was inspired by seeing them doing work they enjoy, on their own terms.
As requested, after the meeting I followed up with an introduction between the accelerator program members and business accountant Dyesha Belhumeur. Dyesha is a former colleague and a start up entrepreneur herself as founder of Undefined Clothing. She also owns and operates a small business accounting practice, Seattle Professional Accounting Services. I’m hopeful that the introduction will lead to more fruitful relationships.
Continue to choose hope by default. Hope in action spawns more hope and more action. I hope the women from the Rooted Growth Accelerator will be able to access and afford the resources they need to grow their businesses and thrive across other parts of their lives:
I hope they can receive growth funding on terms that work for them, if needed
I hope their food products help build prosperity and resilience in our local food systems
I hope they are able to live in comfortable and safe housing despite homes being unaffordable for many
I hope they can access good affordable healthcare and insurance
I hope those who have children are able to access affordable, reliable, child care
I hope they can offer good paying jobs and benefits to their employees as they grow
I hope they can take time to spend outside enjoying the wonders of the Pacific Northwest
Hope alone will not solve for multi-generational challenges rooted in systems designed to work for the few over the many. We all need to hope for something good, be willing to listen to and learn from each other, see each other’s humanity, and show up for each other in ways both big and small. Invest, donate, volunteer, mentor, connect, organize — using the abundant collective resources we have towards things that will support a healthy planet and ensure everyone has what they need to thrive.
Hope in action. It looks different for all of us. While I remain deeply troubled by recent events and the multitude of challenges we all face ahead, my optimism for a better future is being fueled by taking action locally. A virtuous cycle that feels far better than settling into hopelessness as a default.
