I wasn’t sure I was ready for this one.

Not because of the baseline work itself. I’ve drawn at hundreds of events and I know how to take the markers out when walking into a room. But this event felt different for me, and I wanted to make sure it was done with care. Not just competently, but in a way that was meaningful for this group and what they stand for.

Before I left, I told Megan: I just want to do this well.

My friend Aja Moon, an amazingly talented artist in DC, settled it for me. She said: “Wade, handle this responsibility with honor. This is what you were made for. You are the right person. You’re going to crush it.” Hearing that, I felt ready to walk into the room.

The room

The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) got together in Detroit for their annual conference. There were about 200+ attendees.

This is five generations of Black law enforcement in one place. Founders from 50 years ago standing next to the people they mentored, who are now 30-year chiefs. One mentor was there with a cane, the person they put into a police chief role 30 years ago, standing right next to them, telling the story together.

I’d describe it as a very pure event. The sessions covered things that don’t have easy answers.

What happens when ICE shows up in your jurisdiction before you have a policy written?

What’s the hidden costs of leadership when you're carrying trauma alongside the people you lead?

How do you hold an organization together when people in the room are genuinely afraid things could go backwards?

Over two days we covered nine of the big talks, panels and presenters. No one was formally recording anything. There was no video and no transcript. The illustrated boards were the only thing people could take a photo of when it was over.

The work

Before the first session started

I spent a few minutes with Renee Hall, the NOBLE president, helping her frame what the graphic recording was for. Wanted to give her some language for something many people aren’t used to seeing done live and in the moment.

Namely, if we, as humans, don’t track our history, we won’t know if we made progress. We won’t understand how we showed up.

By the end of the weekend, it was easy to keep thinking about the people in that room. These are leaders describing what it cost them to make hard calls in public.

Or officers who kept looking and searching for people nobody else was looking for. Or people doing necessary work quietly, for a long time, without much acknowledgment.

These are big ideas boiled into small actions. Getting a sense of it all in one place isn’t easy, but it’s important. Seeing, hearing, listening, and drawing it all was an honor.

Grateful you are here,

Wade

P.S. If you have an event where the work is this necessary, I’d love to be in the room. Reply to this email and let’s talk.

P.P.S. NOBLE is back in July in Dallas. 2,000 people from across the country. I hope to be there.