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Discussing Black Fatigue

Mary-Frances Winters
Racism is killing Black people.

While the mainstream media is filled with reports of systemic and interpersonal racism, anti-Blackness goes further than the harrowing stories you might hear on the news. In order to achieve true justice and equity, resources are needed to enable Black and non-Black people to heal, learn, and have production conversations around racial injustice.

Author, diversity and inclusion expert, and civil rights activist Mary-Frances Winters has identified a major symptom of racial inequity called Black Fatigue, which is the crushing physical and psychological toll of dealing with a constant stream of racist acts and attitudes, whether they are cruel and criminal— or simply clueless.

Berrett-Koehler is excited to announce its next MasterClass with Mary-Frances Winters, "We Need to Talk About Black Fatigue: How to Have Inclusive Conversations about Dismantling Anti-Black Oppression in the Workplace" on Wednesday, July 15, 10 am PST/ 1pm EST.

Sign up for free. 

During this conversation, Winters will discuss the social, economic, and health-related effects of intergenerational exhaustion as a result of systemic racism that she illustrates in her upcoming book, Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit. She will tell you how to talk about (and combat) Black fatigue at work, the different ways that Black fatigue is experienced, and how it manifests in the daily lives of Black people - including in workplaces.

Winters, founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., a global organization development and diversity and inclusion consulting firm with over 36 years of experience, truly believes that diversity and inclusion work is her “passion and calling.” Winters is experienced in strategic planning, change management, diversity, organization development, training and facilitation, systems thinking and qualitative and quantitative research methods. She has extensive experience in working with senior leadership teams to drive organizational change.

Among her many awards and distinctions, she was named a diversity pioneer by Profiles in Diversity Journal in August 2007 and received the Winds of Change award from the Forum on Workplace Inclusion in 2016. Winters was also featured in Forbes’ June 2016 publication, which honored some of the DC Metro area’s most powerful women. In November 2019, she was named by Forbes as one of 10 trailblazers in diversity and inclusion. She has served as a torch bearer for the Olympics and has previously been recognized as an Athena Award winner from the Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to women and the community.

Winters is the author of six books: We Can’t Talk about That at Work!: How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics (2017); Only Wet Babies Like Change: Workplace Wisdom for Baby Boomers; Inclusion Starts With “I”; and CEO’s Who Get It: Diversity Leadership from the Heart and Soul. Her upcoming books include Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging across Differences (August 11, 2020, release); and Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit (September 15, 2020, release). Winters also authored a chapter in the book Diversity at Work: The Practice of Inclusion (2013) and numerous articles.

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