What Juneteenth Teaches Us About Institutional Courage
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On June 19, 1865, approximately two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, enslaved people in Galveston, Texas finally received word of their freedom. This delayed spread of freedom—and the systemic inertia that allowed slavery to persist in parts of the country—gave rise to Juneteenth, now a federal holiday, as a day of reflection, celebration, and reckoning with our nation's long struggle for racial equity.
But Juneteenth is not only a historical milestone, it’s a mirror held up to our institutions, reflecting the gap between our stated values and our lived practices. It challenges today’s organizations, especially in the wake of racial uprisings and renewed equity commitments post-2020—to confront that gap and ask a crucial question:
Do your systems support freedom in practice—or delay it in effect? Who holds the authority to define and drive equity in your organization—and who is quietly sidelined, even as equity becomes a centerpiece of your mission?
Institutional Courage vs. Performative Equity
In recent years, many organizations have declared their commitment to equity, especially following major national reckonings around race and justice. But the real test of that commitment comes not in the press release, but in the practices that follow. As we reflect on Juneteenth—a commemoration of delayed freedom—we must also reflect on the ways institutional equity can be delayed or derailed without sustained, courageous action.
Recent research by Bernstein, Bulger, Salipante, and Weisinger (2020) identifies organizational practices that promote racial equity through intentional, sustained action and inclusive leadership. Their findings emphasize that advancing racial equity requires more than episodic interventions—it depends on building cultures where equity is structurally supported, continuously enacted, and institutionally prioritized.
Applied Insight from Organizational Psychology
While statements of commitment and structural changes are essential, it’s the daily experiences within teams that often reveal whether an organization’s equity efforts are truly taking root. One critical area that reflects this is psychological safety—an environment where individuals, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, can take risks and raise concerns without fear of retribution or isolation.
Psychological safety is foundational to high-performing, innovative workplaces (Edmondson, 1999). Yet for equity to truly take root, that safety must be cultivated intentionally and equitably. Without institutional courage, psychological safety becomes selective. Marginalized employees may still face disproportionate consequences for speaking up, resisting norms, or simply existing authentically—despite the organization’s broader equity commitments.
From a systems perspective, racial equity initiatives must address:
Structural bias in hiring, advancement, and decision-making must be dismantled so that organizations don’t continue to reinforce the very inequities they claim to address. Without interrupting these patterns, even well-meaning equity initiatives risk replicating exclusion and stalling transformational change.
Emotional labor and cultural taxation placed on Black and Brown staff (e.g., the unspoken expectation that they educate others about racism while navigating bias themselves) must be addressed so that organizations stop outsourcing the work of equity to those most burdened by inequity. Without doing so, equity efforts risk becoming performative, extractive, and unsustainable.
Power hoarding at the leadership level must be dismantled so that authority and decision-making are not concentrated in the hands of a few, often disconnected from the lived realities of those most impacted by inequity. When power remains tightly held, it stifles innovation, suppresses diverse perspectives, and blocks the kind of shared leadership necessary for equity to thrive.
To move from allyship to action, leaders must embed equity into performance metrics, budgeting, and strategic planning—not just training sessions. These are the levers of institutional power. Without aligning them to equity goals, even the most well-intentioned organizations will struggle to sustain change or repair the harms their structures may continue to produce.
Sector-Specific Touchpoints
Government and Public Institutions
Juneteenth reminds us of how delayed action from government entities has human costs. Public agencies must ensure that their equity action plans are not only aspirational documents, but operational roadmaps. For instance, Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has implemented initiatives aimed at promoting equity within state agencies, demonstrating a commitment to institutional courage at the state level.
Private Sector
Corporate DEI pledges spiked in 2020, but many companies have since scaled back these efforts, particularly since the beginning of 2025. This retrenchment has been driven by a combination of political backlash, legal uncertainty, and fears of reputational risk tied to evolving federal policies. However, recent reporting suggests that some corporations are now quietly reintegrating DEI principles—an implicit recognition of their importance to business outcomes and employee engagement.
Nonprofit and Philanthropic Organizations
For nonprofits whose missions are rooted in justice, Juneteenth is a reminder to model internally what they advocate externally. Boards, funders, and executive leaders must assess whether their own practices reflect anti-racist values—and whether they are unintentionally reinforcing dynamics of the nonprofit industrial complex. This includes over-reliance on funder approval, superficial metrics, or hierarchical decision-making that sidelines staff voice. A recent example is Race Forward, which publicly reaffirmed its internal equity commitments by launching a staff-led participatory budgeting process and restructuring senior leadership roles to increase representation and shared decision-making. This move, grounded in the organization’s mission, illustrates institutional courage in real time and serves as a model for how nonprofits can operationalize their values beyond public-facing statements and funder narratives.
What Institutional Courage Looks Like
Building institutional courage means moving from values to action—and from aspiration to accountability. While each organization’s path will be different, the following practices reflect powerful entry points for transformative change. Consider how these could be applied in your context—and if you see value in partnering to explore and implement them more deeply, we’d be honored to walk that journey with you:
Audit systems with purpose. Conduct equity-centered organizational audits that lead to transparent findings—and take responsive action to address them.
Share power in practice. Co-design strategies with those most impacted by inequity to ensure solutions are informed, inclusive, and relevant.
Repair what has been harmed. Build mechanisms for acknowledging institutional harm and creating meaningful repair—not just issuing statements or checklists.
Make accountability visible. Embed equity metrics into performance reviews, leadership goals, and organizational strategy—not just annual reports.
Juneteenth is not only about the freedom gained in 1865. It’s about the freedom delayed—and the enduring structures that justified, normalized, or obscured that delay. For today's institutions, the takeaway is not simply to remember the past, but to actively disrupt the patterns that continue to echo it:
Equity is not a statement. It’s a structure. And building that structure takes courage.
Bernstein, R. S., Bulger, M., Salipante, P., & Weisinger, J. Y. (2020). Organizational practices that promote racial equity through positive and intentional interactions. Research to Practice Partnerships (RRAPP). https://rrapp.spia.princeton.edu/organizational-practices-that-promote-racial-equity-through-positive-and-intentional-interactions/
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
Deloitte. (2024). With 4 steps, sustainability disclosures can help companies earn investor trust. Deloitte CFO Journal. https://deloitte.wsj.com/cfo/with-4-steps-sustainability-disclosures-can-help-companies-earn-investor-trust-96b2caab