Patterns in American Racism discussion with creator Patrice Jones

by Rachel Ryan, Enlight Media 

Tune in as Patrice Jones, co-founder of Enlight Media, and Rachel Ryan, Video Project & Production Manager at Enlight Media, sit down to discuss In Context’s debut series, Patterns in American Racism: The Paradox of Progress. 

In this conversation, Patrice and Rachel dive into the inspiration behind Patterns, the importance of American history in inclusion training, an overview of the series, and what’s next for In Context. 

Patterns in American Racism is a video-based online program that examines the history of anti-Black racism in America.

Video Transcript: Patterns in American Racism Interview with Patrice Jones

RR: Hello everyone, my name is Rachel Ryan. I am a Video Project Manager and Line Producer at Enlight Media. I am joined today by the co-founder of Enlight Media, Patrice Jones. Patrice, how are you doing?

PJ: Doing great. Good to be here.

RR: Thanks. Thanks for being here. Patrice is also the co-founder of In Context, which is what we're here to talk about today. Specifically, we are here to talk about the debut collection Patterns in American Racism. Patrice, for our audience, can you give a breakdown of what Patterns in American Racism is?

PJ: Patterns in American Racism is our first collection within In Context, which is a video-based learning platform designed to help integrate historical context into existing inclusion and diversity training.

RR: All right. And what inspired you to create Patterns in American Racism.

PJ: So, like so many, so much of the work that's being done in diversity and inclusion presently, a lot of it is grounded in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. I think it was such a harrowing experience for so many of us that we were struggling to make sense of what we'd just seen. I had recently left publishing, which was the industry I had been in for over 20 years before starting Enlight Media.

PJ: So, I got a bunch of calls from people wanting me to be on panels or give presentations to try to talk about racism in America and how it affects corporate spaces. And one of the presentations I ended up giving was on the history of American racism. And in the course of that the research to give that presentation or to deliver that presentation, it became really clear that to understand the forces of oppression around race in America, you really needed to understand how institutions and systems fed into that dynamic.

PJ: And mainly the economic interest in perpetuating a society that is largely defined by racism. So I gave this presentation like four or 5 times for different companies and was really encouraged by the responses that I was getting. And my responses, I mean, largely the questions that people were asked were asking seem to be born out of a genuine curiosity and a desire to try to improve things.

PJ: I do understand that 2020 was a really a very different time in America in terms of the dialogue around race. I started wondering like, how can we scale this? So, I talked to my partner, Monica Ohlinger, who is the founder of Ohlinger Studios and also co-founder at Enlight. And we started talking about ways that we could maybe get this presentation in front of more people and try to make a difference. So we arrived at the idea of creating a learning platform built around this content, and we also understood we needed to make it modular, so that people could consume it in digestible bites.

PJ: And from there, we started to think about, well, what's the context in which people would consume this information and how would it have the most effect? And if you remember, during that time there was a lot of energy around diversity, equity and inclusion. And so we realized pretty quickly there was an opportunity to tell these stories within that context. So, we built these modules. We use the resources that we had with Ohlinger Studios being an educational content company and Enlight Media being an educational video company.

PJ: We set about designing and creating these collections and modules. And that's kind of where we sit now, where we've got one collection finished and other collections underway.

RR: And in your response, you talked about the importance of history a little bit. So, can you describe why it's important to ground inclusion training in American history?

PJ: So, if you've ever been through inclusion training, it feels like there's a lot of discussion around what I call trying to “play nice in the sandbox.” You know how not to offend people. You know what “rakes not to step on.” There's a lot of metaphors. But, what's really clear is that if you don't understand the history, that a lot of this stuff seems arbitrary, right? And it also implies that fighting racism is fighting bigotry, and that's not what it is.

PJ: So much of the dynamic that results in people of different races, religions, sexual orientations being oppressed has to do with the institutions that are in place. And if you understand how those institutions operate, then we also start understanding how changing things isn't just about changing the way we think it has to be about what we demand of those institutions and the people who steer those institutions, i.e. politicians. So it's really important that we understand how history has framed the society, society that we live in and how those institutions have played a role in driving that history. Because if we're going to change anything, then we need a plan to impact those institutions and systems.

RR: And focused on historical context. I want to dig into this a little bit further. What is the breakdown of the modules in Patterns? What pieces of history do you cover?

PJ: For Patterns in American Racism, we start with a module on slavery followed by a module on reconstruction. The next module is on Jim Crow and lynching, which is two videos in one module. And next we move on to housing discrimination and education. And finally, we look at mass incarceration.

PJ: And by the way, we start with an introduction that kind of lays out our course for the entire collection.

RR: So, what makes Patterns in American Racism stand out?

PJ: I think what makes it stand out is precisely what it is. If you've ever gone through any kind of inclusion training, if there was a discussion of history, it was probably very brief. Kind of perfunctory. You may have covered everything from slavery through present day and like a five-minute video, if not just a quick discussion. And what we believe is that history is a defining aspect of our current reality. And so, you have to view discrimination through a historical lens, which means we have to try our best to steep participants or steep viewers in the history of America.

PJ: And if we do that, things start to make a lot more sense. And those ideas about how to treat each other feel a lot less arbitrary and feel kind of integral to our existence and an integral to our reality.

RR: And what kind of impact do you hope that this product has on companies and organizations that choose to adopt it?

PJ: I hope that it makes organizations and companies realize the magnitude of this work and the importance of this work. I think a lot of DEI or inclusion work right now is seen as a check the box, like something you need to have or to be able to say that you've done. And organizations don't realize that it is their part to play in a much larger struggle.

PJ: These are not initiatives without opposition. If there were no opposition to DEI, there would be no need for DEI. And so I think companies needs to realize that this is not a political situation, and they are choosing a side by embracing inclusion and that side is not without its opposers or what is it, ops?

PJ: But I think that's what it is, understanding that this is not just something to do to check the box, that this is actually taking a stand. And they have to be comfortable with doing that.

RR: And when we talk about taking a stand, this is being adopted at the company and organization level. But how do these learning modules translate into the everyday lives of the people that take it past just the time they spend at work?

PJ: Well, a lot of it is knowledge, right? It's understanding. I think it was Maya Angelou that said, “when you know better, you have an obligation to do better.” And what we are trying to do is expand people's knowledge of history and of the “why” around why things are the way they are. And once you understand that, you don't turn that off when you leave the office. Hopefully people will take this knowledge into their communities and help educate the people around them. And even in some cases correct people around them who may have beliefs that are based in a way of thinking that does not take into account history or that is based on a less accurate view of history, so that if we can change the way people approach each other or think of each other in the workplace, those people then go out into their communities. And hopefully a lot of the lessons that they've learned will be applicable to their everyday life beyond the workplace.

RR: And what would you say to an HR or inclusion leader that wants to adopt this product but doesn't know how to bring their team on board?

PJ: I think you've got to start with your company's values. Like we said, this is a product that is aimed at purpose-driven organizations. So, if your company's stated values are in line with that profile, then I think you've got to check in to make sure that those values are being lived, or that your company is interested in living through those values. And if they are. I think it's really just a matter of reminding them of what they've already committed to and showing how in context, and in this case, Patterns in American Racism can help further fortify those values and help them turn them into some actionable initiatives that are going to make the company more productive and more innovative, but also help make the company a leader in the communities in which they serve and in which their markets exist.

RR: And our last question is what is next for In Context?

PJ: Next for in context is Women Rising. And this is our collection on women's struggle for equality. I'm so excited about it. We learned a lot of lessons on our maiden voyage, which is Patterns in American Racism, and a lot of those lessons we were able to apply directly into Women Rising. So, I'm really excited to release it and start to see what folks think about it. I think it's some of our best work.

RR: All right. That was our final question. Thank you again, Patrice, for joining me this afternoon to discuss Patterns in American Racism. And for anyone that would like to learn more or adopt the product, you can visit InContextNow.com.

PJ: All right. Thanks a lot.