Leveraging Systems Thinking to Dismantle Systemic Racism in Conservation

Abstract

In the early 1990s, the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and other cultural heritage organizations began to formally address the lack of racial diversity in the US conservation field. Since then, a wide array of programs designed to attract a more racially diverse group of people to the field have been developed and implemented. Their impact, when measured by increased racial diversity in AIC membership, has been limited. Using the concepts of systemic racism, critical race theory, and systems thinking, this article explores how the conservation field got to where it is today and what it could do to become a contributing element of an inclusive society. Possible ways to leverage lasting change are proposed. An invitation to those who are interested in interrogating what is set out, finding the weak points, filling the gaps, and building on the strengths is extended to all readers.