Beyond serving as Director of Talent Acquisition at Heartland Alliance, Tasha Knight is also a member of the Anti-
Racist Response Council (ARC). Her passion for creating economic opportunity through employment is amplified by bringing untold stories to light and changing the narrative of recruitment.
Describe a truly equitable and free society. How is it different from now? What are we still missing
Today, too many people share the idea that racism doesn’t exist. Or that it’s like a dinosaur, where it’s extinct and every now and again old bones are discovered. On the contrary, racism still exists. It is still here and is as prevalent as it was before, even more so systemically. It’s deeply embedded into different programs, education systems, government agencies, banking, housing, and law enforcement – you name it, it’s there.
Until recently, parts of the world weren’t able to see how racism shows itself in its physical form. This changed for people with George Floyd’s death. His death uncovered this reality and exposed it all over the world.
An equitable society would stem from the recognition that racism exists while working to eliminate the systems that perpetuate it today. When Black and Brown people are treated equally to our white counterparts, are afforded the same opportunities, and there aren’t any clear lines of separation, this would be where systemic racism is truly non-existent.
Another part of this is being able to move through society without fear of anything being used against them, by way of race and ethnicity. That feeling of safety is a crucial for a free society; when everyone feels free there is no fear in what you are able to achieve.
Right now, people are afraid of being able to get their dream home, live where they want to, get the job and promotion they want, and even different things like being able to get loans from banks. That’s not a free society. Whenever we are able to eradicate those fears for all of us, that’s when I’ll see a free society.
How are you working toward this vision? How does your work at HA support this? How can others work toward this?
At Heartland Alliance, I currently have the opportunity to serve on the Anti-Racism Response Council (ARC). By being a member of that team, I’m able to use what I absolutely love to do in my professional life to provide people with an opportunity for employment.
I’m working with this group to make advancements in solving wage gaps, looking at how people are promoted, and analyzing processes for acquiring potential job candidates. It is important that we ask the right questions. Are we putting ourselves out there in a way where people know that we prioritize being an anti-racist organization? Are we doing a great job of affording everyone the same opportunities for our openings? Are we effectively partnering with our hiring managers and sharing these same expectations? That’s how I’m working towards that vision today.
Others can work towards this by looking intently at language. Look back at the text and ask “Is this speaking to everyone? Or “How would someone else take this?” It doesn’t matter what your title or role is, we all have a responsibility to look out for one another and language is a great place to start.
Sankofa is a word in the Akan Twi and Fante languages of Ghana that translates to “Go back and get it.” Sankofa symbolizes the importance of knowing and learning from our past to guide our future. Where should we look to in our past to help guide us to that vision? Are there individuals or events that could help us achieve our goals of equity and opportunity for all?
Is there a place to go? You could go to a museum, or a library — these are things that can help us, but life is so much more than a physical space.
Life is to me is a journey of exploration. It’s like a large 25,000-piece puzzle with all of these individual parts that need to come together. When you look at a puzzle like that, you know it’s going to take time. It can’t be rushed. Some pieces are easier to connect than others, while other pieces have to be examined and assessed for the right fit.
When thinking about the question, “Where do we go?”, we have to go beyond what we see in front of us and be willing to discover what may not be easily digested.
Start within and ask yourself about different opportunities that you have been afforded within your life experiences. Once you’ve done this, talk to your grandparents, great-aunts and great-uncles, about their personal experiences. And then, step out of your comfort zone and ask other people about their life experiences. Listen with the intent of listening.
Once you’ve listened to different stories, ask yourself questions like “What are our differences?” and “What can be done to make our experiences be more similar or identical?” to identify and make opportunities to be afforded to all in everyday life.
There is immense value in experiencing life by coming out of your comfort zone. Read books from different authors, autobiographies where one shares their personal and unique experiences are good places to start. This is an important way for us to learn from each other. For those who don’t like to read, there are movies. There are different ways to hear other’s experiences, so find the solution that works best for you. We have to get out of our own comfort zone, out of our own world.
This is for all of us, even those who have experienced struggle. We need to come out of our own reality because that’s the only way to see how things could look different. This takes all of us. Coming together and sharing each other’s stories is how we can help achieve our goals together.
