Diversity In the Land of Black & White
They say, time reveals, heals and generally is the tonic for all ills. I still need a little more time, I think...
Still in recovery, on several levels. To all appearances my event " The Business of Diversity" was a huge success. Another one of those mad ideas I attribute, in hindsight, to excessive coffee and a Don Quixote complex.
This particular windmill Almost had me retreating under a bridge with Jack in a paper bag and forswearing coffee forever. Almost.. Diversity. Loosely defined ( by our old friends Webster) as "a state of variety" or " a range of different things".
It's the current politically correct conundrum for a correcting movement.
Despite a polyglot city with a babble of over 25 languages and a generous cross range of 10+ diversity communities, this Wall is all Black and White with no meeting ground for shades of grey. Putting a target on my forehead, in this current political squall, I am an "All Lives Matter" kind of person. While bearing a sympathetic understanding of the underlying principles of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, recent events indicate indelible black vs white lines drawn are verbal bricks and rocks fabricating social Walls. Terms like "white privilege" are not conversations starters but battle cries. And not, to be picky, but why is there no equal furor for the Native Americans and their historical trails of tears, loss and continued crisis?
Around the world, history is torn down, and books burned by angry enthusiasts wishing to spotlight singular fragments of mistakes made by a progressing human race. For the short time we have inhabited this planet, we have tested our own humanity. And, yes, progressed. We Do learn from our mistakes.
Therein lies the argument. To accept we are a singular, learning species, not separate, broken - racial entities... A windmill indeed in these chaotic times.
So, there I, was, happily admiring my windmill, blithely unaware of the incoming storm. Event planning was in full chaotic swing as it had just turned the economic corner of;"Oh Shit, oh shit, will this happen.." - to " Oh Yeah! it's HAPPENING! " as tickets started to fly off the site. Critical details of program printing are about to go to press. Finger on the Send button. Another Tick off the list. Onward Ho!... But wait for it....
Across the room, my African/American colleague from the Oregon State office, drops his bomb. " You can't be the moderator". Finger backing away from the Send button. "Say What"? I query unaware of the incoming racial missile. "We need more black people on stage and your Not Black".
I am literally bouncing with caffienated energy, inhaling my 4th cup of morning coffee. Across the desk, I gently put my cup down. " What did you just say?" Yep, Folks, he repeated it, again! WTF?!! "Your Not Black. We need more black people on the stage." Well. This was interesting on several levels. One "protected" class telling another, we are, as people, unequal, merely because of perceived skin color. ( In summer, as you all know, I get a nice toasty Brown). " Do you", I ask, "have someone already in mind?" to replace me as moderator? "No" replies the Sate of Oregon. My company colleague blithely jumps on the bandwagon of racism a moment later. " I have someone" she leans forward, a sumo wrestler entering the ring. She throws out her candidate. "Is She Black?" I query. "No, she is transgender". Hmmmm. Not BLACK, but certainly diverse. Compromise is the heart of bridge building. "So," I say, we all agree, that I will be replaced as the moderator by this new candidate, but will still do the opening speech". At which the State of Oregon decides to fire another shot with a resounding "No, your not Black" volley. Cutting a ridiculous story short, a few days later, I am replaced by an appropriately colored gentlemen who I then give the gist of my opening speech to... And, as they say, the rest is history..
The event went forward. My "bigger picture" of starting a conversation and building bridges across a fractured city and country was too important, to me, to let this stand in the way. But. Yes, there is a very Big BUT. What does this story say about perceptions of "diversity" and "race". Lines of Black vs White with no room for brown or, any other "color". Will we be next divided by the color of our eyes, or the shape of our heads? A skull found in Dmanisi, Georgia brings us to the conversation of a single species. Human.
I ask you this simple question in these complicated times. Are you human?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4lSTYE5kA
The Business of Diversity 2017
Still in recovery, on several levels. To all appearances my event " The Business of Diversity" was a huge success. Another one of those mad ideas I attribute, in hindsight, to excessive coffee and a Don Quixote complex.
This particular windmill Almost had me retreating under a bridge with Jack in a paper bag and forswearing coffee forever. Almost.. Diversity. Loosely defined ( by our old friends Webster) as "a state of variety" or " a range of different things".
It's the current politically correct conundrum for a correcting movement.
Despite a polyglot city with a babble of over 25 languages and a generous cross range of 10+ diversity communities, this Wall is all Black and White with no meeting ground for shades of grey. Putting a target on my forehead, in this current political squall, I am an "All Lives Matter" kind of person. While bearing a sympathetic understanding of the underlying principles of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, recent events indicate indelible black vs white lines drawn are verbal bricks and rocks fabricating social Walls. Terms like "white privilege" are not conversations starters but battle cries. And not, to be picky, but why is there no equal furor for the Native Americans and their historical trails of tears, loss and continued crisis?
Around the world, history is torn down, and books burned by angry enthusiasts wishing to spotlight singular fragments of mistakes made by a progressing human race. For the short time we have inhabited this planet, we have tested our own humanity. And, yes, progressed. We Do learn from our mistakes.
Therein lies the argument. To accept we are a singular, learning species, not separate, broken - racial entities... A windmill indeed in these chaotic times.
So, there I, was, happily admiring my windmill, blithely unaware of the incoming storm. Event planning was in full chaotic swing as it had just turned the economic corner of;"Oh Shit, oh shit, will this happen.." - to " Oh Yeah! it's HAPPENING! " as tickets started to fly off the site. Critical details of program printing are about to go to press. Finger on the Send button. Another Tick off the list. Onward Ho!... But wait for it....
Across the room, my African/American colleague from the Oregon State office, drops his bomb. " You can't be the moderator". Finger backing away from the Send button. "Say What"? I query unaware of the incoming racial missile. "We need more black people on stage and your Not Black".
I am literally bouncing with caffienated energy, inhaling my 4th cup of morning coffee. Across the desk, I gently put my cup down. " What did you just say?" Yep, Folks, he repeated it, again! WTF?!! "Your Not Black. We need more black people on the stage." Well. This was interesting on several levels. One "protected" class telling another, we are, as people, unequal, merely because of perceived skin color. ( In summer, as you all know, I get a nice toasty Brown). " Do you", I ask, "have someone already in mind?" to replace me as moderator? "No" replies the Sate of Oregon. My company colleague blithely jumps on the bandwagon of racism a moment later. " I have someone" she leans forward, a sumo wrestler entering the ring. She throws out her candidate. "Is She Black?" I query. "No, she is transgender". Hmmmm. Not BLACK, but certainly diverse. Compromise is the heart of bridge building. "So," I say, we all agree, that I will be replaced as the moderator by this new candidate, but will still do the opening speech". At which the State of Oregon decides to fire another shot with a resounding "No, your not Black" volley. Cutting a ridiculous story short, a few days later, I am replaced by an appropriately colored gentlemen who I then give the gist of my opening speech to... And, as they say, the rest is history..
The event went forward. My "bigger picture" of starting a conversation and building bridges across a fractured city and country was too important, to me, to let this stand in the way. But. Yes, there is a very Big BUT. What does this story say about perceptions of "diversity" and "race". Lines of Black vs White with no room for brown or, any other "color". Will we be next divided by the color of our eyes, or the shape of our heads? A skull found in Dmanisi, Georgia brings us to the conversation of a single species. Human.
I ask you this simple question in these complicated times. Are you human?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4lSTYE5kA
The Business of Diversity 2017
Comments
Post a Comment
Something to say?