Building Bridges: What Can We Do Now?

“The hope of everyone who works for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) should be to work ourselves out of a job. To reach a place where we are naturally innovative and holding critical conversations and become better people. But diversity, equity and inclusion, and more specifically racial equity, does not happen in a vacuum. Even when these issues are no longer popular or trending, we need to act with purpose. We must consider whether our work is meant to prove we are morally right or to create moral good.” – Christian Barnes, Interim DEI Director

MLQ reaffirmed its dedication toward racial equity in quidditch last summer, providing ways allies can donate time and effort to the Black Lives Matter movement. In conjunction with US Quidditch, we hosted BIPOC Town Halls to hear from members of our community, and we continue to be guided by and take DEI action in accordance with the outlined pillars.

We opened Black History Month with some of MLQ’s past, present and future DEI-related action items. USQ released their census data, highlighted members of the community and hosted their Black History Month celebration. We are seeing organizations take feedback and bring ideas to action, but is there more that should be done?

Learning from History

After the horrendous events of the 1908 Springfield race riots, a group of white liberals issued a call for conversation to discuss solutions to racial injustice in America. That meeting, with over 60 attendees but just seven African Americans, was the beginning of the organization we now know as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Coming off its 112th anniversary on Feb. 12, 2021, the NAACP continues to be the longest-running civil rights organization in the US, with branches all across the country (including in close proximity to most of our MLQ franchises). Since its founding in 1909, the NAACP has continued to spread information, champion advocacy and invoke action on racial equity issues. Even today, the NAACP continues to invite people to join the cause: from taking part in voter registration, to supporting access to education opportunities, to advocating for laws and policies. The NAACP is a representation of people coming together in an effort to make the community better, even if the problems disproportionately affect some more than others.

Why It Matters

The quidditch community is one of the most progessive niche sports in existence. From the gender rules and the community’s respect to gender identity, to the values of many of its players, this sport is an example for others to follow. We also have a lot of areas in which we still need to grow, two of which are respect and empathy. As highlighted by many BIPOC community members during the town halls last summer, there has been a disappointing lack of movement toward racial equity in this sport. Female leaders like Grace Dastous and Fiona Wisehart highlighted how our words are important and show our gender biases. Shadé Jaiyeola, Olive Jim-Daniels and Lulu Xu revealed how our ideas about gender equity and intersectionality may seem progressive in comparison to other sports, but is nowhere near a place where we should feel satisfied. As we reflect on the origins and story of the NAACP, we must learn from their biggest strength: fellowship.

A Community Together

To continue growing how we think, speak and act with equity, we need to take action together.

The NAACP was an organization that began with a population of overwhelmingly white members who realized they had a responsibility to act with their fellow African Americans to fix an irrefutable wrong. I believe that as a community, quidditch can do the same. As we identify issues, we should lean into bridging understanding and creating solutions rather than starting arguments and passing blame. Our conversations need more empathy on both sides and the understanding that what we believe to be unwavering may not be as stringent as first perceived. Unless we take the time to teach our teammates how to be allies and give them room to get things wrong, they’ll never grow capable of the support that can affect real change. The NAACP has shown the growth that can occur when people with more resources realize their responsibility and help those with less resources become equally represented. And we need to give that chance in quidditch now. 

I believe the people in this community want change, but I also see a hesitancy and fear to help: a fear to fail, subscribing to the expectation that the only ally is a perfect ally. This is evinced most distressingly in the current online culture. One one side, there exists a loud minority that thinks advocacy is pointing out flaws from a moral high ground, yet they take little to no action to solve these issues. On the other side, there are people who have genuine positive intent, but stay out of any conversations for fear of saying the “wrong thing”. As a community, we have always had the ability to create movements, from the #SaveUSQ fundraiser to winning online social media competitions–we have always been able to rally together for a common good. We need to connect our DEI values to that camaraderie as well.

What Can We Do Now?

There is a responsibility of those in power to support those from whom power has been withheld. Our sport is still predominantly white men, and while we should continue to work on improving the recruitment and retention of BIPOC athletes and diversifying the genders that make up our teams, we should not force the white male majority out of our conversations on diversity and inclusion. Yes, they may speak from a less-informed place. Yes, they may sidestep these conversations altogether due to their own discomfort. But we should not admonish them for their mistakes. We should view this as an opportunity to teach, to encourage, to unlock a potential ally. I make an active decision to bridge understanding where I can, in the hope that those who do not understand can learn to see the world the way I do. One small conversation with someone new can, in time, lead to a transformed ally championing a young Black athlete. 

To survive and become the sport we want—equitable, inclusive, niche and ours—we need to build bridges and connect with each other. We can build that community by putting empathy first. As we struggle to remake our sport in the eventual aftermath of the ongoing pandemic, we will need each other more than ever. I believe the desire to support each other will be there when we return. 

Our actions now reflect the future we’re building for younger generations of quidditch. Do we want to continue to create a place, where less-experienced club players and most college players are afraid to voice any opinion on social media? What are we mentoring and modeling for the younger players, when the athletes who should be mentors are the ones most frequently attacking each other? I implore the community to consider these questions.  For– if we can’t recognize our faults, reflect on them and change in the hopes of creating a better community–then we should consider whether we deserve a place in it anymore.

Take Action

Christian Barnes is Interim DEI Director, Referee Manager and part of New York Titans management staff for MLQ. In addition to these roles, Christian volunteers for IQA and USQ in many roles, ranging from coordinator to USQ Gameplay Department Manager and IQA BIPOC Committee Manager.  He has been volunteering in quidditch since 2013 and enjoys the people it allows him to meet and create connections with. Christian is a renowned head referee, lead assistant referee and snitch.  He is passionate about advocacy and engagement and has been one of several voices leading the charge on creating meaningful change for BIPOC athletes and community members in the past year.