|
|
ellie krug
writer, lawyer, human
Human Inspiration Works, LLC
The Ripple
Vol 6 No. 10 November 2021
Inspired by the words and deeds of Robert F. Kennedy
|
|
Achieving a Milestone
Dear Friends:
Winter’s first snowfall arrived in Minnesota earlier this month. My puppy Jack—wow, he’s now six months old—bounced around chasing flurries and eating snow. It was such a delight to watch! I am so in love with that boy!
This month also brought a milestone: the 200th episode of my weekly radio show, Ellie 2.0 Radio, where I talk about idealism and highlight humans who seek to make the world better. To mark the occasion, my producer, Brett Johnson, and I did a retrospective with some of our favorite interviews. This included my interviews of Daryl Davis, a black musician who befriends Klu Klux Klan members, and John Blake, the CNN correspondent, who spoke of “radical integration” as a way to bridge America’s divides.
The 200th show also featured a real-time interview of behavioral psychologist Dr. Kurt Nelson, who spoke about “compassionate curiosity,” the act of genuinely talking to people about why they believe and feel like they do, without an agenda, but real curiosity. It’s the opposite of shaming.
If you’d like to listen to episode 200 (which now joins the show’s list of podcasts), click here.
Finally, with this month’s story about “Human Libraries” below, you will see that I continue with the theme of our collective need to talk to each other as the vehicle for getting past our fear of “Other.” I wholeheartedly believe that this work—taking risks and sitting with humans who are different—is the only way we’ll heal America. Unfortunately, our leaders continue to go in the opposite direction by preying on our fears—talking human-to-human with those who think differently is the last thing they want.
As I’ve said before, I fear that we are running out of time to fix things. There is a real urgency here that we can’t go on ignoring. Think nine-alarm fire…
Separately, I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I plan to do exactly that—give thanks as I spend the day with my daughter and Jack. Gratitude is a powerful value!
Remember, I care about you. Be well my friends!
ellie
|
|
The Human Library--Curiosity and Communication |
|
My brother Mark tipped me off to the Human Library, an organization founded twenty-one years ago by Ronni Abergel, a Danish human rights activist and journalist who lived in the United States as an exchange student and who witnessed how our country became so divided. Just as books help to expand our perspective about the world, Ronni believes that learning from humans who are different from “us” could also help to close the divide.
As reported in this November 14, 2021, CNN piece by my friend, John Blake, Abergel said, “I had a theory that (the Human Library) could work because the library is one of the few places in our community where everyone is welcome, whether you’re rich or poor, homeless or living in a castle, professor or illiterate…It’s truly the most inclusive institution in our time.”
According to the Human Library Twin Cities website, this is how the process of checking out a human book works (this appears to be pre-Covid but it will give you some idea):
Unlike a traditional library, a Human Library is an event scheduled at a specific place and time. It can be held anywhere there are people and sufficient room. At each event, there are three main areas.
The Desk is the starting point. Here you will find information about the Human Library and can browse the list of Books available at that event. Once a Reader selects a Book title, they work with a Librarian to get their library card. Then the Reader and Book are introduced and sit down together in the Reading Room area.
The Reading Room area is where the Book and Reader have their conversation. Each book’s area will have a few chairs, maybe a table, and be in full view of the rest of the room. Check-out lasts for up to 30 minutes. One renewal is available, if no one is waiting for the Book and both parties agree. Or, a Reader can move on to check out the next available Book of interest. This process continues throughout the duration of the event.
The Bookshelf is an area just for Books. Here they wait until a Reader selects them. Often, you will find Books enjoying reading each other while they wait.
(Note: the website for the Twin Cities Human Library chapter seems a bit dated and I don’t know how active the chapter is. If anyone can help me understand the chapter’s status, I’d appreciate it.)
John Blake reports that a Human Library might have various books with titles such as “Black activist,” “autism” and “Muslim.” Hence, there’s a story about a person with conservative religious views meeting with a transgender person (who is the “book”); a woman speaking to a Satanist (the book); and able-bodied persons interviewing a man in a wheelchair (the book). The whole goal is to give “readers” the opportunity to learn more about what it means to be different or “Other.”
As Mark suggested, I plan to reach out to the Human Library to offer myself up as a book. If they bite, I’ll let you know how it goes. Certainly, check out the Human Library (in the U.S., they are for sure in San Francisco, NYC, Muncie and Fort Wayne) and put a library card to good use!
|
|
Inclusivity Tip of the Month
Ensuring for Inclusion (Remotely)
|
|
Of late, one of the most frequent questions I get is about how to ensure for inclusion when all or most of an organization’s team members work remotely. Whereas at the beginning of the pandemic this was viewed as a short-term issue, today—nearly two years into Covid and its variations—many organizations are adjusting to the idea that remote working is here to stay. Indeed, I believe the workplace landscape has been permanently altered.
So, how to make people feel that they matter remotely? (Remember, my definition of inclusion is “the extent to which someone feels that they matter to an organization or group of humans.”)
I have four suggestions.
First, “remote inclusion” takes great intentionality and planning. Back in the old days, we might encounter someone in the hallway or breakroom, making spur-of-the-moment conversations easier. Now, we need to set appointments to talk by phone or online. Thus, I recommend that leaders sit down at the beginning of each month and plot out inclusion-focused conversations—yes, for sure ask about the work, but more importantly, carve out time to just talk human-to-human. Your prompts could be, “How are things going for you, both with us (the organization) and outside of work?” or “Tell me something good that happened to you this week or month” or “What can I do to make your role/work go easier?” It also never hurts to genuinely say, “Hey, I was thinking about you the other day. I so value you.”
Second, create situations where team members are encouraged to interact socially. For example, online Friday Afternoon Clubs (FACs) are a great way to end the week and provide folks the opportunity to talk about things other than work (in fact, set the rule that work-related topics aren’t to be discussed). Another idea is online book clubs—with the book discussion taking place during work hours and not on team members’ personal time. Again, leaders must create the framework for these things to happen.
Third, have a virtual open door so that team members know that their leaders are approachable and willing to carve out time for unexpected conversations. Recall how college professors would hold office hours so that anyone might drop by; managers should adapt to do the same virtually (e.g., “Every Thursday, I’m available to talk to anyone between 4 and 6 p.m. Here’s my cell number…”).
Lastly, have heart. That means giving people space and understanding/remembering that home lives and national events (like the Chauvin, Rittenhouse, and Travis McMichael, et al. [accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery] trials and their impact on diverse team members and allies) are now intertwined with work. Having heart also means it’s good for leaders to not only be empathetic but vulnerable.
While the pandemic has made inclusion more challenging, it’s still very possible to make team members feel that they matter. It just take more effort and imagination!
|
|
|
|
The Twin Cities legal community, headed by one of my personal heroes, Adine Momoh, has stepped up to help Shantel Thompson, a recent Mitchell Hamline Law School grad who was shot and paralyzed three days after learning that she had passed the bar—see the GoFundMe link here. Here’s a video of a bicyclist who stopped traffic on a busy street in Brazil so that an older woman could cross. Finally, see this video of a man taking the time to earn the trust of a mama dog and her puppies (the video is long but worth it!).
|
|
|
|
|
I’ve been involved with Minnesota Women’s Press (the oldest feminist publication in the country) for a couple years now. Here’s an announcement about MWP expanding its print and online platform to include the Changemakers Alliance: Stories, Solutions & Solidarity. This is a series to connect urban and non-metro people around MN in informal conversations about healing trauma, transforming justice, creating community-based equity, and regenerating ecosystems. Please check it out! Also, with the holidays in full view, why not consider purchasing (especially from local bookstores) my memoir, Getting to Ellen: A Memoir about Love, Honesty and Gender Change as a holiday gift? (Remember, I’m happy to talk to book clubs that read my book, too…) I continue to hear that people love my book…
|
|
|
|
|
Local elections this month brought changes to many school boards, including (as this story relates) in Southlake, Texas where newly elected board members have pledged to end the school district’s groundbreaking diversity and inclusion plan. On the other hand, here’s a story about a community forcing the Spotsylvania, VA school board to rescind its decision to remove and burn LGBTQ-oriented books; still, in Texas and other places, there’s a movement to ban books from school libraries. Ugh. Also, here's a story about a transgender woman who, despite her protests, was forced to share a jail cell with three men. One of the men beat her, breaking her jaw. Given that, November 20 was Transgender Day of Remembrance; this year at least 375 trans people have been murdered simply because of who they were. See this.
|
|
|
|
|
The theme for this month’s Relief is surprise—first, watch as a bride who uses a wheelchair surprises the groom with walking down the aisle (make sure to scroll for the video). Then we had a service member father surprise his daughter as she sits on Santa’s lap wishing that her dad was home. Finally, a baby leopard cub gets surprised by a hyena, only to then surprise the hyena back—see here.
|
|
|
|
|
I have been asked to help share the story of a 17-year-old transgender girl, Aspen, who is trying to raise money for cheerleading travel and uniforms; she’s in foster care and the system doesn’t pay for those kinds of expenses. See Aspen’s GoFundMe page here. I’m part of an informal women’s group, which includes Amira Adawe, who has devoted her life to ending skin lightening across the world; see a CNN story featuring Amira here. Way to go Amira! See also this story about the U.S. Navy naming a ship after Harvey Milk, who broke ground for LGBTQ+ humans before being assassinated in 1978. And too, here’s a wonderful, touching Doritos ad that celebrates LGBTQ+ love and the Day of the Dead—it will touch your heart!
Lastly, if you want to help me to do more work for organizations that lack budgets for training, please consider donating to Human Ripple Works, Inc., a nonprofit that others and I set up to train nonprofits/other organizations on human inclusivity. Thank you for that!! If you’d like to support this work, please click here on the HRW website.
|
|
|
Finally....
The Ripple is a work in progress, so please, I welcome your suggestions and comments! Please share this newsletter with others, too!
Thank you for helping to make the world a better place! I'm at your side, cheering you on, I promise! Please have compassion for yourself and for others.
ellie
Encouraging Open Hearts and Thriving Human Spirits
Human Inspiration Works, LLC: We make "inclusion" an action word
|
|
|
|
Ellen (Ellie) Krug
319-360-1692
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
