Ethics into Action

Newsletter June 19, 2023 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

Keeping It Sacred is a multiracial community committed to the unwavering pursuit of social justice and a radically inclusive ethic.  So what does that mean in terms of our practice? How do we turn our ethics into action?

This is a critical question in an age where corporations can virtue signal with lovely mission statements and glossy advertisements that include a diverse set of models, but then who exploit workers around the globe. 

Today is Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom from the racist institution of chattel slavery. It is an important day (as is everyday) to ask ourselves deep questions about the work we are doing to advance freedom from racial and related bigotries in our own lives and the lives of our communities. 

Every industry has questions that are deeper indicators of commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

For example, among other questions:

Film studios can ask if the identities of creatives is reflective of the identities  of the population. 

Coffee companies can ask how the beans are sourced and transported. 

Clothing brands can ask about the labor conditions of its workers. 

Schools can ask about the way redirection of behavior is administered. 

The real estate industry can ask about the kinds of loans they privilege. 

Politicians can ask if the policies they promote impact people differently along racial lines. 

Doctors can ask about the reasons behind drastically different mortality rates for patients according to race. 

The hospitality industry can ask about fair pay practices and opportunities for career advancement for all employees. 

And religious communities? What measurement should we concern ourselves with?

Are we affirming of the voices and feedback of all of our members, not only the white members of our programs?

How does our membership policy serve to account for race, gender, class, and other privilege? 

In what ways are we encouraging members to explore their own relationship with privilege?

How are we supporting our members’ actions in dismantling white supremacy and the systems of power it relies on?

What opportunities are we providing for our membership to take intentional, principled risks in their professional and personal lives that shift the imbalance?

What organizations are we partnering with and how are we honoring their work?

When engaging in campaigns, are we taking credit or are we lifting up the communities who have been working in the issues for decades before we got there?

How are we building a communal culture that doesn’t default to white or Ashkenazi cultural norms? Etc. etc.

There are so many ways we can exercise our moral responsibility of tikkun olam/healing the world from the plague of racism and other kinds of social injustice. But as Rabbi Tarfon used to say (in the Mishnah Pirkei Avot 2:16): "It is not your duty to complete the task but neither are you free to not try." In other words: this is a giant task and it is easy to get overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of the problems. But we must engage in the work. We must do what we can in our own little corner of the world to bring the whole thing back into balance. Together, our work can bend the ark of history toward justice. 

So, here’s one of many invitations we extend: join us tomorrow at 9am PT/noon ET as we share what intentional personal, professional and communal risks we are taking to level the power imbalance.  This is part of our ongoing work (which we began three years ago), committing to beginning each new Hebrew calendar month (Rosh Chodesh) with a personal and communal exploration of these and other questions through our Rosh Chodesh Racial Justice Book Review (register HERE). We have educated ourselves with resources that exist in the community and helped support our progress toward alignment of our personal and communal values and actions. In our review of the reading material, we have unlocked deeper understandings of the pervasiveness of racial bias, and supported one another in the ways we each individually are acting to change the dynamic. 

This is but one way we are aligning our values with our action. Together, we’re #keepingitsacred…

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...