“We are committed to engage our community in dialogue and action to realize a world in which “Black lives matter.”
“Arrest Brionna Taylor’s killers.”
“We are creating an Inclusion Advisory Board to work on increasing diversity and inclusion in our company.”
“We will fill 30% of new positions with Black or Latino workers.”
About a year ago, I remember companies, schools, sports teams, and many other organizations came out with public statements about race, racial inequality, George Floyd, and the BLM movement. At the time, I felt somewhat uneasy about the breadth, depth, and significance of the promises being made. Did the statement represent a genuine push for change? Were they crafted to respond to public pressure that seemed to convey we needed to say something meaningful? Did these statements prioritize goals over profit? Given the wording of the statements, could progress be measured? Were statements promising so much that they might very well result in a whole lot more talk than action? Were they promising too little? Finally, what were the long-term prospects of these promises?
Interestingly, according to a Pew Research Center Survey conducted last summer, a good many people in our country didn’t think statements of this nature about political and social issues were a good idea or even necessary. Roughly half of those surveyed thought these statements were very or somewhat important while a similar share felt that weren’t too important or weren’t at all important. It’s worth noting Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians were significantly more likely to feel they were very important. By the same token, less than a third of Black and Hispanics believed the statements showed “genuine concerns about the treatment of Black people in the country.”
Now it’s time to track progress. One thing I’ve done in some of the diversity training I facilitate is to ask participants to specify perhaps one or two specific, measurable goals they plan to work on in the coming months. Then, 6 months or a year down the road, I follow-up with each of them to see how they’re doing. By now, most organizations that have put out public statements have had ample time to effect at least a modicum of change. So it’s appropriate to ask; What institutional change, if any, has occurred and why? What institutional assessments are in place? Have expectations changed? And are there sufficient resources to track sustainable change in the future? What promises have been made and realized?
Follow-up, reevaluation, and re-commitment months and years down the road is the tough part, especially if we are to make a significant dent in improving opportunities for people of color. And let’s not buy into excuses. If an organization is committed to making something happen, they’ll make it a priority in spite of other social, political, and economic “crises” that will inevitably get in the way.
Links to more from Dr. Bucher:
Buy A MOMMY, A DADDY, TWO SISTERS AND A JIMMY: AUTISM AND THE DIFFERENCE IT MAKES at Amazon.com
Dr. Bucher’s Facebook page on Autism
Dr. Bucher’s Facebook page on Diversity Consciousness