The Insidious Way Self-Employment is Anti-Racist

The article title overlaid on an image of a person walking down a cobblestone street.

We're having a bit of an awakening in this country, especially among white folks. Many of us are coming into a deeper understanding of racism experienced by people of color. I'm pleased to see anti-racism non-fiction books on bestsellers lists and Netflix streaming a Black Lives Matter collection. And I know that these are just starting points. These actions build awareness, after which we must turn that awareness into action.

As our awareness grows, we need to know what we are working towards rather than what we are trying to avoid. On an individual level, this means "not-doing X" won’t be as successful as "doing Y in place of X." On a societal level, this means it's more helpful to know what we want to see in society than what we don't want.

Self-Efficacy Brings Joy

As with all anti-oppression work, we must let the oppressed groups of our society lead by learning what they need the world to be. As a predominantly privileged person integrating what I've learned to date, my goal is to create a world where everyone has equal access to joy. Joy is very unique to the individual, so society cannot give someone joy. What society can do is give them access to the support and self-efficacy that an individual needs to construct joy. Self-efficacy is the ability to advocate for yourself and others.

Oppression of any sort erodes self-efficacy. Consider a few examples: Police constantly surveilling your neighborhood means you’ll spend more energy keeping yourself safe instead of imaging new possibilities. Employers paying so little or putting excessive constraints on their staff removes the staff’s financial and mental resources that allow for self-efficacy. The legacy of red-lining ensures less access to wealth which in turn leads to fewer resources to use towards self-efficacy. Systems of oppression make some less-than and others better-than. This exploits the less-than person, robs them of their self-efficacy, and limits the freedom of us all.

Changing an entire system is difficult, nebulous, and nearly impossible. Something each individual can change is the society in our immediate vicinity. It’s within an individual’s grasp to create a pocket of existence that offers greater support, self-efficacy, and less oppression. Self-employment is one instance of creating a pocket of an alternative existence.

Self-Employment: The Hero of Our Story

Inherent in self-employment is deep access to self-efficacy. You're no longer working for the man. There is no team or committee that needs to sign off on a decision. You get to make your own decisions. As soon as you make the decision, you can take action on it. It can be difficult to know what action to take, but this the “good problem” that is inherent in self-efficacy.

It might seem that self-employment is a microcosm that cannot possibly impact a whole of society. That's not the case. The capitalistic economic system of the United States tends to reward exploitation and dominance, feeding into systems of oppression. Employment is the linchpin of the capitalistic system. By removing ourselves from the employment system, we remove ourselves from this fundamental method of oppression. Removing ourselves could be a moment to check-out which could be a valuable safe space for members of oppressed groups. For those who experience greater privilege, this can be a vital moment to check-in and take action for change.

Self-employment is not for everyone. For those just starting out on a self-employed journey, it can feel like you don't have enough time or money to do it all, and definitely not enough time or money to contribute to the causes or movements you care about. If you are interested in embarking on self-employment, it's helpful to keep in mind that you are doing very important and valuable work to create a different pocket of existence, and without doing extra it is outside our normal exploitative systems. Self-employment gives you the self-efficacy to make real changes nearly immediately. It can be difficult to identify what those changes should be, but that line of inquiry is time well spent developing your own self-efficacy skills.

Take Action

If you've been inspired to learn more about anti-racism work and the Black experience, take time to ponder what an anti-oppressive world would be for yourself and people of all demographics. If you're already self-employed and want anti-racism to take a larger role in your business, let's talk about your vision for the world and how you might create that in microcosm in your own business. Use your business as an opportunity to take personal responsibility for changing a system that treats you better than others.