I have followed Paul Ladipo’s work on LinkedIn for the last few years. Every time he posts, I can’t “like” his post fast enough. His expertise and ability to distill down tough topics related to race and inclusion are superb. Paul just released his book, It Was Never About That: Going Beyond Hate to Dismantle Everyday Racism in America, which is a must-read.
Paul has a combined fifteen years of experience in academia, non-profits, and faith communities, becoming well-versed in the DEI challenges and needs of each sector. In higher ed, he has facilitated bystander intervention and sexual misconduct trainings with athletic teams, discussed systemic racism with faculty, and led full-day workshops on building inclusive cultures with student leaders. For non-profits, Paul has developed curriculum to center the needs of persons with disabilities, survivors of intimate partner violence, and survivors of sexual assault. Within faith communities, he has given presentations and led discussions on breaking racial barriers to create multi-ethnic ministries.
Listen in to hear Paul share:
- How our unconscious bias shows up and how our ego and need to be seen as “good” hold us back from acknowledging this bias
- The importance of removing binary thinking when it comes to inclusion
- The serious consequences when we uphold a culture of silence – and how we recently saw this play out for Macklemore and Ed Sheeran
- What the shift in organizational commitments to DEI has really shown us over the last two years
- The 3 questions to ask yourself when you’re feeling uncomfortable talking about race, discrimination, and inclusion
- How curiosity and openness to critical conversations can open our eyes to rich historical context and deeply personal stories
- The steps you can take to uphold inclusive practices even if your organization doesn’t have (or has canceled its) DEI initiatives and policies
Links Mentioned:
- Learn more about Paul and his work: paul-ladipo.com
- Get Paul’s book: It Was Never About That: Going Beyond Hate to Dismantle Everyday Racism in America
- Connect with Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ladipo/
- Watch Shameless Leadership episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saradeanspeaks
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