July 6th, 2010
I got invited to a meeting once.
It seemed a little surreal at the time and it still does now, when I think about. I was doing a lot of work with high school students and college students at the time and shortly after facilitating a summer camp for sophomores and juniors, I got a call from a couple of students. They were very unhappy about the environment in their school, especially regarding issues of race and ethnicity. A meeting was scheduled with five or six senior administrators and I was asked to attend with the students. I sat at one end of the table, the two students sat next to each other on one side and the school administrators filed in and all sat across the table from the two students.
After a little small talk, the two students told their stories. They were clearly uncomfortable and intimidated in this meeting, but they were both courageous and said what they had to say showing a great deal of emotion at times. They spoke to a number of things that were unsettling to them involving interactions with other students, interactions with staff and faculty and school practices / policy.
And that is when the crazy shit began.
After these two students bared their souls to the adult professionals sitting across from them, those adults each took turns speechifying about how they could not possibly in any way be prejudiced. One of them even had a bilingual roommate in college, so how could he possibly have any bias?!?!?
This was a very important meeting in my life. It was important because I failed to adequately respond to what the administrators did in that meeting and I failed to adequately advocate on behalf of the two students. The administrators committed to some staff training, so as the meeting was coming to an end it sounded and felt positive, but I knew walking out of the room that I had failed. It took me some time to dissect exactly what had happened in that meeting, but it was very valuable for me to do that because I see the exact same dynamics all over the place.
I learned a number of valuable lessons from this meeting, but one thing that it helped clarify for me was organizational diversity and inclusion work is activist in nature. It is not about what you do not do…its about what you do.
If we are not deliberate, intentional and proactive about being inclusive, then we will likely be unintentionally exclusive. Do not tell me that you “do not discriminate”…that is not an investment in or a prioritization of diversity and inclusion. That is simply common sense. That is simply following the rules. That is simply doing what you brag about doing in your proclamations about diversity. I am not interested in what you do not do, I want to know what you do. What action do you take? What risk do you take? What social or political or financial capital do you invest?
Answering “we do not discriminate” when I ask how you invest in or prioritize diversity and inclusion is like answering “we don’t treat people like shit” when I ask you about your approach to customer service or leadership.
Inclusion is forward leaning, it requires action.
What action do you take?
What action does your organization or your community take?
Be good to each other.
Great post…and so true. I’ve been both the advocate and the student in that room at different points in my life. I don’t think there is anything that makes you feel smaller than being the student and having to listen to an administrator tell you that it couldn’t *possibly* be them or the institution they run…that you, the student, are the one who is crazy.
Beautifully on point! I’m sharing.
Thank you both for reading and commenting, I appreciate it.
-joe
Right on, Joe. A point that I find myself making more and more is that it’s not enough for organizations to say they’re "open to diversity" – they have to commit to going out and get it. And, as you point out, inclusion is the same way. You can’t just wish for an inclusive culture and expect things to change.
On a completely different note, I simply can’t wait to meet you in New Orleans come October. I think you have half of my brain. 😉
Ha! Eric, I have thought the same thing about you at times. Also looking forward to October, I hope that we have a chance to hang out a bit. I also have something else I am working on that I want to run by you…gonna send you some info via e-mail in the next few days. Thanks again for reading and responding.
-joe
Terrific post Joe! Diversity IS about what you do…but just as importantly, it’s about what you KEEP doing. My experience has taught me that it is not enough to recruit – you must also retain. Recruitment is the showboat – it is measured in loud proclamations, impassioned testimonials and good intentions. But the true work, the difficult work, is creating and implementing the necessary cultural, political and social systems to retain diversified individuals and groups once they have been recruited. Too often the support, counseling and mentoring that is needed to ensure a sense of belonging, inclusion and understanding evaporate once the parade has passed by.