What Do You Do On Fridays During The Pandemic?

Connecting the Dots Against Systemic Oppression and Racial Injustice Is The Friday Night Zoom Call We All Need To Be On

I know a lot of us are over-Zoomed, but the last six months has been a total mindf*ck and many of us feel despite all the phone calls, petitions, emails and social media re-posts that we still need to do more. (BTW, I’m referring to police brutality, anti-Asian violence, anti-Blackness, Black people being murdered, Transphobia, COVID disproportionately affect Black and Brown communities, the upcoming election…all the things).

Connecting with one another is really important right now! We need to have tough conversations with each other —with our friends, family, co-workers and community. We need to be exposed to different experiences and perspectives. We need to be on zoom calls that facilitate us through unpacking some of the systems that are oppressing different communities. This is what Connecting The Dots does for me.

Nalini Saxena, creator of Connecting The Dots and founder of Elicit Consulting explained, “Connecting the Dots Against Systemic Oppression and Racial Injustice is a virtual space for people from all backgrounds and all geographies to dialogue about social justice, particularly inspired by recent racially charged events in the United States in the context of the global battle with COVID-19.” Each week a different topic related to systemic oppression is addressed in a way that allows attendees to listen to perspectives that they might not have been exposed to in order “to engage in constructive dialogue, to review insights from that dialogue, and to celebrate unity on the collective quest for social justice”. Some of the topics in past events were: Healing, Action and Hope; Encouraging Constructive Connection; How Can We Define Identity; Education As A Means To Social Justice; Cultural Competence And Health Disparities; Blurred Lines And Dual Identities; Deconstructing Conceptions Of “Woman”.

In the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, Nalini was overwhelmed with emotion like many of us, but at the same time she was motivated to take lead in creating a constructive response in her community. Though her small business, Elicit Consulting, has been hit hard by COVID-19, she wanted to use whatever she had to “to create a virtual space, owned by its participants who would craft their experience through the energy that they bring to it, to facilitate social justice progress.“

I’ve become so wary of entering spaces virtual or IRL when there are no boundaries about who can show up but Connecting The Dots is a well curated event with trained facilitators. I really think its an event that everyone I know should attend. In efforts to share it with you all, I asked Nalini a few questions so that we can all learn more about it and I’ll hopefully see you in the next meeting!

What went into creating Connecting The Dots?

I reached into my background as a teacher and my more recent work as a corporate trainer to design the structure of Connecting the Dots.  My business’ Social Justice Task Force has taken my vision to technical and operational execution. My incredible network has served as an extended family, volunteering to get involved, and that has been really inspiring. 

How has this work filled you up during such a trying time in the world?

Over the last few months we’ve started to create our own Connecting the Dots community, with several “regulars” participating each week and often bringing their friends and family into the space.  Every Friday evening I close the session with sincere gratitude, my heart so moved and my brain exploding with new learnings.  This is the most meaningful initiative I’ve ever undertaken.

What has been some of the feedback from Connecting The Dots participants?

I sincerely don’t know where to start!  My inbox surges following each session.  Our participants have reported taking the inspiration and learning from Connecting the Dots to action in their personal and professional lives.  

One participant — who had previously been struggling with family conversations around BLM and had written off several people that she hadn’t been able make appreciate her views — reported that after our session on “Encouraging Constructive Conversation” she picked up the phone to call the family that she had written off, and ended up using our guided discussion questions to have a respectful and engaging conversation with them, and then helped them open their minds to her push for social justice.

Another participant was inspired by our spotlight “Mind Over Matter” on mental health implications of oppression and injustice to create an affinity group that disseminates mental health resources to employees at his workplace.  Over time, that helped expand his company’s position on medical benefits to include mental health coverage.

 A participant who joined us from Europe — after finding out about Connecting the Dots via EventBrite — shared with us that our spotlight “The Stories We Hear, The Stories We Tell” moved her to take a look at how she has approached race in her personal life and professional environment, and how she has been encouraging people around her to do the same, to reflect in search of biases, and to evolve their narratives. 

Who attends these meetings and how do they find out about them?

We’ve got a tremendously diverse group of attendees who have been participating in Connecting the Dots.  So far, our youngest participant has been 12 and our oldest, 89.  We’ve had people Zoom in from different continents, from very different cultures, identities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.  

 We’ve not done any fundraising for this initiative (yet), and so our budget to produce it and to market it is really slim, and contingent on what resources we can allocate from my business, Elicit Consulting.  As such, we simply have an open-to-the-public EventBrite listing and we post on our limited social platforms.  Other participants come to us via word of mouth.

Where do you see Connecting the Dots post pandemic? 

When I came up with the vision for it, I committed to producing this series as long as I can keep the lights on with our business.  I would love to continue Connecting the Dots as long as there is work to be done and people interested in having constructive dialogue with us.

What has Connecting The Dots done for you?

I’ve learned so much during these last six months!  Elicit has found a refreshed connection to purpose, which we’ll be launching in a brand refresh by October 1st.  Connecting the Dots has affirmed my drive to “be the change” and “live my values” via business, and it continues to challenge me and inspire me to do more and do better.  The climate is still very difficult for small businesses like ours, and I’m hopeful that those that resonate with our values will join our community in business and/or in social justice.

What are some of the other ways you and Elicit Consulting have been supporting your community during the pandemic?

In early March when we had our last day at our offices, I wanted to establish a clear position that we weren’t going to engage in any effort to generate business for two months.  Instead, I launched a “Service First” approach: we’d offer our services free of charge to anyone who came to us seeking us out and we’d deliver resources to anyone struggling with the COVID-19 transition. In those early days of the pandemic, I spent much of my time knocking on doors of local businesses that we’ve been patrons of or neighbors with, offering to help them navigate the confusing world of PPP and other small business funding.  I also worked with some of our existing clients to find new ways to connect to purpose and launch not-for-profit arms of their businesses and brands.  And since then we’ve been participating in a number of formal and informal efforts to support our hungry fellow New Yorkers.  There are many more ways we’d love to support our community, and we hope to return to a place of financial health so that we can do just that.

More About Nalini Saxena and Elicit Consulting

Nalini is my business coach. I worked with her because of her strong personal values and extensive knowledge in business. My work is so personal so it was important for me to work with someone who would understand it as a whole. Elicit Consulting’s mission is “to explode outward the boundaries of what is perceived as achievable for organizations, entrepreneurs, and individuals in such a way that enlivens purpose, drives performance, engages partners, and connects to global citizenship.” Elicit offers consulting, advisory, training, and coaching so that clients can achieve their ambitions and more. More specifically, Nalini explains “For organizations, we customize The Evolved Workplace™ to elevate their teams, their culture, and their competitive positioning. For entrepreneurs, we offer strategic guidance on business, finance, and talent.  For individuals, we provide skill development and professional transition coaching.”

Nalini describes Elicit Consulting as “a purpose-driven business, and we like to work with clients whose values align with ours, who believe in impact and betterment of themselves and their stakeholders.” Please visit Elicit.Consulting to learn more about working with an amazing business coach and strategist!

Connecting The Dots Against Systemic Oppression and Racial Injustice takes place every Friday from 5-6:15pm EDT on Zoom. Sign up on Eventbrite!

By Emily Grace Siy, L.Ac. and Nalini Saxena

September 6, 2020