From Emancipation to Accountability: What Freedom Requires Now
- Daphne, FNDR of Tough Convos
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Freedom was declared. But was it ever delivered in full?
Gaining freedom didn’t end with emancipation. It became more complicated. National Freedom Day and Black History Month remind us that freedom is not something we inherit — it’s something we practice.
The National Freedom Day meaning signifies a promise. Slavery was outlawed. Always will be. But a promise is one thing. Lived reality is another.
That's where Black History Month leadership comes into the picture. Yes, it's about examining and retelling the past. But it's also about asking what freedom looks like right now, right here. If some people can’t move safely through your neighbourhood, vote without hurdles, or trust that their rights will be protected the same as anyone else’s, are they actually free?
In the U.S. and Canada, courtrooms and headlines grapple with the question of what freedom means today. The answer? Well, that depends on who you are and what you're willing to do with the freedoms you have.
Table of Contents:
Accountability Is Not the Same as Blame
When conversations turn toward injustice, tensions brew. This reaction usually comes from confusion about accountability vs blame:
Blame hunts for villains. It points backwards and assigns moral failure to individuals.
Accountability is about participation. It looks to the present and future. It names shared responsibility inside living systems, so freedom can be a truth for everyone.
Accountability does not accuse you or anyone of causing history. It asks you to see where you stand inside it. You live, work, and make choices within systems that didn't disappear with new laws.
Freedom and accountability are inherently linked because freedom only continues when people care for it in real time. Responsibility grows from what you accept and what you speak up against.
What's more, benefiting from systemic racism doesn't mean you or someone else has cruel intentions. It gives them access and safety. It equips them with default credibility they didn't necessarily earn.
Systems Persist Because People Maintain Them
If freedom and accountability were alive and breathing in our systems, outcomes (like health and legal justice) wouldn’t be so easy to predict by race. But they are. And that's far from a coincidence.
Systemic racism today is woven into the policies that seem neutral on paper but punish in practice. Examples include:
Hiring rules that reward sameness
Feedback styles that punish difference
Security protocols that profile
Budget cuts that target equity programs first
Racism in workplace systems often hides behind “standards” and “fit," like who’s asked to represent and who’s assumed to lead. That kind of inequality doesn’t require bad actors, just comfortable ones who keep their mouths closed.
We need to remember that freedom is much more than the absence of violence. It's the presence of safety and access, of voice. If a system, company, or community doesn’t produce those for everyone, it is not just.
When Accountability Is Labelled ‘Division’
It’s common to hear that calling out harm is “divisive.” But what’s really being disrupted is comfort.
When people speak about racism or call for authentic leadership accountability, they might be met with pushback framed as a need for harmony, for unity. But why talking about racism makes people uncomfortable isn’t mysterious. It affects their pride, their routine, their understanding of themselves, and a version of history many were taught to protect.
If you want to know why accountability feels divisive, it boils down to these:
It asks those in power to face what they’ve benefited from.
It interrupts systems built to serve some and exhaust others.
It moves the conversation from intent to impact.
It demands new behaviour. No more promises.
In reality, talking about racism is not the cause of division. It's a solution to it. Silence protects the status quo. Accountability, speaking up, propels both people and institutions toward something better, toward lived freedom for everyone.
Choosing to Be Part of the Solution
Reflection has its place. But freedom today needs action. Real, tangible action.
During Black History Month, you can honour legacy. You can ponder the past. But you must show up. You must move from allyship to accountability, from words to behaviour.
Call out when you’re benefiting from systemic racism. Encourage others to do the same. These daily choices — whether at work as a leader, when shaping policy, or within your friend and family circles — have ripple effects. Your employees are watching, your kids are too.
Lean into leadership accountability. Use your critical thinking to make decisions and second-guess knee-jerk judgements. Be intentional about nurturing your workplace with cultural intelligence that both expects equity and truly delivers it.
Here's how leaders address systemic racism:
They name the problem, loud and clear.
They change what they can control.
When conversations get uncomfortable, they don't retreat. They stay present. They listen and learn.
Will you do it?
Not as a task list. Not as something extra.
Simply because once you know, it’s just how you show up.
Explore how Cultural Intelligence supports accountability in leadership and helps turn awareness into meaningful action. Get access to our CQ eBook for leaders and embody what you know.
Comments