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Proximity and Solidarity: Helping Northstar Know the Difference
Melissa Crum • June 22, 2020
Proximity and Solidarity: Helping Northstar Know the Difference
Dear Northstar Cafe,
On Jun 15, 2020, The Columbus Dispatch informed us
that 50 protesters held a sit-in at your Short North location. It was an opportunity to offer ways Northstar might use its sphere of influence to address police brutality, such as removing your police discount, supporting frontline service workers with a physical tip jar, and requiring company-wide anti-racist training. Because you are my favorite restaurant, I became interested in what you are saying about people who look like me, a Black person. The sit-in protest came after you posted this message on your Instagram page:
We stand with the Black community. We stand against police brutality. We stand committed to amplifying the voices of our Black colleagues and working alongside them to dismantle systemic racism in the restaurant industry and in our communities. Your pain, your voices, and your lives matter.
Your statement reminded me of the words of Nona Jones, who is a Black woman, pastor and Head of Global Faith Partnerships at Facebook. Jones asked a colleague to explain what was meant when they said they “stand in solidarity” with her. She stated her colleague “made the mistake of confusing proximity with solidarity… Going from proximity to solidarity requires going from feeling to action.” Are you educating yourself for the purpose of mobilizing your influence and resources in the direction of change? In the case of the protestors at Northstar, they were peacefully demanding that you prove that you knew the difference between proximity and solidarity.
Although the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor gained national attention and shed light on state-sanctioned violence, the issue of police brutality isn’t new for Columbus. In 1999, the U.S. Justice Department sued the Columbus Police Department, accusing it of a pattern of civil rights abuses that included excessive force, false arrests and improper searches. Twenty years later, a study conducted by an external company found that CPD uses force disproportionately against minorities.
If you believe that the request for the permanent dismissal of the police discount is about not allowing police to only spend $7 for a Northstar Burger instead of $14 you are missing the point. I was once asked “if a small percentage of looting rioters discredits the entire movement, then what does a small percentage of bad cops do?” If the issue is ridding CPD of a “few bad apples” then how long are those most impacted by those apples supposed to wait? How do you differentiate community support for “good” vs “bad” police officers
who come into your restaurant? The question isn’t the presence of “good” police officers. There are plenty (depending on how you define “good”). What is being asked of you is why are you supporting a law enforcement system that allows the bad apples to thrive? How do you define a “good” officer if the system doesn't require those doing harm to be held accountable? Discounts are your sphere of influence. Keeping them is a way of saying that you are complicit with the law enforcement institution causing harm to your employees, patrons, and fellow human beings, even those who you may never meet. Therefore, you want to make it clear that you do not support an institution that doesn’t seek to protect and serve everyone. The removal of the discount, along with the other demands, asks you to use your sphere of influence. Your influence can demonstrate that until an institution that has proven to be oppressive to Black people fix themselves so that we can know that the “bad apples” are being held accountable for their action, then you are not willing to offer support. This position is important because we don’t know if you are discounting the meals of abusive officers and their enablers.
After I posted the June 15th article on my social media, I received numerous messages from Black friends and strangers telling me about their negative and scary experiences working for Northstar and Brassica (both under the same ownership). Companies can't make sincere public statements about standing with Black people when the ones in closest proximity are saying that you are standing on their necks. The statement is not only ironic, its gaslighting.
Be honest. Honesty could be that the owners are more interested in profit over people. Or honesty could be acknowledging the harm you’ve caused directly or allowed to happen to your employees who are members of the Black community and those who support us. Accountability is required. That might be beyond what you budgeted for and it will likely be uncomfortable. But whatever you choose to do to actually stand in solidarity won’t include a public statement because you have demonstrated that you have no intent to follow through with actionable steps.
So, Northstar, I need you to reflect. I need you to consider and choose to make these shifts. Not only because I don’t want to have to find another restaurant to make my ricotta pancakes and hot cider made with whipped cream of the perfect consistency, but because people shouldn’t have their dehumanization be justified by the goal of sustaining high profit margins. They shouldn’t have to feel like they have to remind their employers of their humanity while they are trying to keep their job to survive.
You’re great at what you do, I am sure of it. But I bet there are som e elements of your job that you struggle with (because you are human after all!). And while I don’t know what those are for you, the one challenge I see over and over again in my workshops is how to manage people. Because most managers are not trained on how to be a “great manager,” they’re promoted to manager because they’re great at what they do, which is an entirely different skill set. Add race to the picture and well, your job just got a whole lot harder ! I’ve got one tip for you… After leading workshops in more than 200+ businesses, organizations, and schools across the country, it’s this: When you dismiss someone, demote someone, or give someone life-changing negative news in the workplace, it should not be the first time they hear the reason why. Workplaces need to have a system in place to give consistent feedback (following inclusive practices) so bosses can talk to employees about their shortcomings and offer training on those areas long before it reaches the critical stage. And that requires bravery. Why? Because it is so much easier to say nothing than to call someone into your office and be transparent about their shortcomings. You will feel a bit awkward, a bit vulnerable in those conversations. And they may not always be very pleasant. But that bravery will help individuals grow, as long as training and helpful support is also offered. And then you’ll have a team that is not only happy but has an enviably low turnover. Because you, are officially an awesome manager! If you’re not a manager and you worry about being on the receiving end of bad news like this in the workplace, I can email you some tips and thoughts to help you in my next post if you like? Let me know! Warm regards, Melissa PS I’d love to know if you have any burning questions that I can help you with… If you’ve got a situation at work that you’d like some DEI advice on, drop me a quick reply now because I’d be happy to address it for you in a future blog post (and I’d keep you 100% anonymous of course!).
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