Tag Archives: racism

La Historia

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I have been ranting about the importance of history—of knowing history—for years. Learning the history of Puerto Rico and its diaspora have been central to my understanding of my own story, my father’s story, and the story of millions of others whose ancestors endured the ravishes of colonialism. We, their descendants, exist as evidence of their resilience.

It’s Economic

The current racist attacks against Haitian immigrants resulting from lies being spewed by a United States Senator who is running to serve as Vice President and his fellow candidate for President of the United States, are unfortunately neither new nor surprising. The denigration of immigrants has been a practice for centuries and in the vast majority of cases, patently ignores facts and demonizes those being targeted. A bit of Haitian history: The Haitians, like many other former European colonies were forced to pay reparations to French former slave owners for decades.[1]  

Reparations for former slave owners was not limited to the French. On March 22, 1873, the Spanish National Assembly finally abolished slavery in Puerto Rico. The owners were compensated with 35 million pesetas per slave, and slaves were required to continue working for three more years.[2]

The irony is that when descendants of those whose bodies and labor were stolen make a valid argument for reparations the response is typically something akin to, “That would be impossible! It would bankrupt the government!”

A second ironic (actually bitter) point is that oppressors frequently blame their victims for the results of their victimization. Creating epithets such as Welfare Mom to describe a person who has been denied access to economic opportunity, erases of the cause and effect of centuries of colonialism, economic oppression and institutional racism and sexism. Hence, the current movement to ban the study of history and the books that document or depict that history. (Keep the people blissfully ignorant and they will be complacent.)

Why does this matter?

In order to justify the act of ‘owning’ another human being it is critical to de-humanize that person, to consider them less than yourself. So, a racial value system was created establishing a persons’ worth based on the optics of their race. The location of a persons’ birth was also part of this caste system. So, if someone of ‘pure’ Spanish heritage was born in Madrid, for example, they occupied the highest rank in society. If someone of ‘pure’ Spanish bloodlines was born in Ponce, P.R., they were lower in status. If someone had a Spanish father and a Taíno mother, they were further down in ranking, and etc. The Casta Coloniale table below illustrates this clearly:

La Casta [Spanish categorization of race in the colonies]

¡Viva La Resiliencia!

Every year during Hispanic Heritage Month, I endeavor to balance the depressing history of colonialism against the resilience and beauty of our culture—our multicultural culture. El Museo del Barrio in New York City has been providing a venue for demonstrating that resilience since its establishment in 1969. This year, el Museo is celebrating its Triennial with a large scale artistic survey titled, “Flow States”[3]. The exhibition will feature 33 participating artists working across the United States, Puerto Rico, and—for the first time—extending into new geographies that reflect the complexities of diasporic flows, with artists based in the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. In other words, the ways in which the hybrid cultures born of colonialism are fluid and interwoven and continually changing as people relocate (voluntarily and otherwise) geographically. Art as a form of resilience and resistance facilitates our evolution and our ability to emerge from legal and economic systems that perpetuate our oppression and lack of agency. The diversity and intersectionality of Hispanic culture is at the core of our resilience. We cannot assume where someone is from or what their DNA carries based on geography or optics. We can, however, find our common history, our shared experience, and our passion for creating art out of tragedy. I am really looking forward to this exhibition!

What does this have to do with DEIAB in the workplace, Wendy? EVERYTHING! The workplace is comprised of people, all of whom have a story—historia—that informs and effects how we see ourselves and others, how we communicate and interact, and how we navigate our place in the world—our self-worth. That directly impacts workplace culture, communication, and outcomes.

If you have not explored the richly diverse history of Hispanics in America, isn’t today a great day to begin?

Onward!

~ Wendy Amengual Wark      

September 15, 2024

Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com
InclusionStrategy.com

[1] https://eji.org/news/haitis-forced-payments-to-enslavers-cost-economy-21-billion-the-new-york-times-found/

[2] Miller, Paul G., Historia de Puerto Rico, Chicago, Nueva York, Rand, McNally y compañía 1922. (p. 301.)

[3] https://www.elmuseo.org/exhibition/flow-states-la-trienal-2024/

 

I am a Proud DEI Hire!

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I am a Proud DEI Hire!

I am Dedicated

I have dedicated my life to the mission to “make manifest the value of all people.” Achieving that mission has included several chapters: working in the private sector as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager, working in the public sector as an EEO Officer, in academia providing education to others who have chosen careers in service to others, and as a consultant working with a myriad of organizations.

I am Educated

When people ask me for recommendations on how to do what I do for a living, I consistently respond, “Get the best education in this field that you can.” Mine is a multidisciplinary field and so, practitioners may begin in the legal profession or in human resources or in training and development or in organizational psychology. Whichever the focus, it is critical to get a solid education in the history of discrimination, including sexual harassment and to have a fundamental understanding of employment law if you are going to be truly effective in this work.

I am Inspired

The motivation for committing my life to creating and supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion is based on a childhood of being othered (being discriminated against, bullied, harassed, assaulted, and excluded) by those who were taught not to value my difference. Being subjected to hateful treatment resulted in my deep empathy for others who suffer the same. As one who has risen from brokenness, I break cycles of abuse and hatred. I am inspired and honored to do the work that I do.

Say it Loud!

When the haters try to co-opt our words and language with the intent of weaponizing them against us my response is to refuse to participate. I call on everyone who has been subjected to hatred based on any of your affinities or identities to say it loud, “I AM A PROUD DEI HIRE!” My diversity is an asset. Equity is a requisite for my participation, not rhetoric. I must be included—fully, fairly, and with respect. I am not asking for favors, or any special treatment. This is basic, fundamental, and a benefit to everyone who understands it.

I am Qualified

The gaslighting behind the anti-DEI movement is predicated on the lie that “DEI Hires” are not qualified. This lie is usually pushed by those whose own qualifications for whatever role they are in or are seeking may be questionable. There have been many times when I have seen the qualifications bar lowered for someone’s relative, friend, or former college roommate, I have never seen that bar lowered for a BIPOC candidate, an LGBTQi candidate, or a candidate with disabilities whether a new hire or for a promotion.

The ‘fake it till you make it’ crowd doesn’t seem to suffer from imposter syndrome as they have been privileged for years of being given opportunities without having to prove how qualified they are. While those of us who have been excluded tend to over-achieve so that there can be no question that we have earned our seat at the table.

Untie or Unite?

If someone tries to distract you from your goals or to convince you that you are better or worse than another person, ask yourself what they are trying to accomplish. Unity is an amazing and wonderful experience. When collaborating with a group of people whose diversity combines to create something new and exciting is seen as a threat or in any negative light, please question why. If someone tries to convince you that DEI is a bad thing, again, ask them why they see it this way. Attempts to untie, unravel, and undo unity or to disrupt harmony and to denigrate kindness are not new, they are just exponentially amplified by the anonymity of the internet. I have two words for the enablers and amplifiers of this rhetoric: Stop it!

I am a Leader

I have been in my chosen field of DEAIB for decades and as result have earned the respect and trust of many colleagues and clients. As a woman of mixed race and ethnicity who has navigated the many challenges of a world that fosters exclusion and discrimination (both as an employee and for twenty years as a small business owner), I have learned to be proud of my diversity, to see it as the asset that it is, in addition to my education and experience.

Earned Trust

Yesterday, the President of the United States passed the torch (picture the Statue of Liberty) by endorsing his Vice President to be the next President of the United States. President Biden is a white man who understands the importance of diversity of affinity and identity, perspective, and experience. He nominated Vice President Kamala Harris based on her decades of dedication to public service, her education and experience as a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, and her inspiration as a woman, a Black woman, a South Asian woman, a mixed race person, and a daughter of immigrants. Those identities and affinities are bonuses for us, the American People, as members of the most diverse nation in the world. As we rededicate our country to becoming one where equity is the foundation for our equality, and where inclusion of all is valued and embraced.

I am honored to have met Vice President Harris years ago, when she was the Attorney General of the State of California and I am proud to endorse her as the next President of the United States. I trust that she will serve our nation and our world with dignity, mindfulness, and gravitas as the first woman president in our 235 year history.

Onward!

Wendy Amengual Wark
Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com
www.InclusionStrategy.com

July 22, 2024

Photo: W. Amengual Wark, 2016

 

The Art of Denial

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Am Not!

Picture two siblings, perhaps eight and six years old. The argument may be over a toy, or a game, or who sat on whom, or any other rival-based competition. It may go like this: “You’re a liar!” “Am not! You are!” We used to say, “I’m rubber, you’re glue, bounce off me and stick on you!”[1] In other words, the original perpetrator of the crime turns the truth around and accuses the accuser of whatever act they just committed.

Did Not

In the same theme of denial, the success of the act of denial is dependent upon the denier’s credibility, or when that is lacking, their ability to persuade whoever is listening, that they are telling the truth, while denying it. I have had many dozens of perpetrators of discriminatory conduct patently, intensely, convincingly deny their culpability. This was always a challenge, although there were several occasions when I actually had the ‘smoking gun’ (in the form of a video or audio recording, an email or other evidence) in my hand while the perpetrator and liar vehemently argued their innocence. This allowed us to proceed with appropriate disciplinary action against the violator of the law.

You May Not

Denial takes many other forms as well. Denying someone access by not providing ramps, ASL[2] translators or closed captioning; denying someone service because of their race or gender expression; denying someone’s right to justice and equity, denying someone else’s right to even exist, are all too common and have a wide-reaching destructive impact on our world.

You Are Not

My dear friend, Derrick Kikuchi, who has extensive experience advocating for peace and social justice responded to my last blog post, “Peace Talks” by reminding me that there are those who not only refuse to come to the table to reconcile differences, but deny others the rights and protections that they enjoy. Specifically, he cited the many times when fighting for marriage equality as a gay man, that people would literally walk out on the conversation and argue that his right to marry his incredible husband, Craig Wiesner, somehow infringed on their rights. That if Derrick and Craig won equal rights, those opposing that progress actually lost something as a result. I agree that peace talks are not possible if both parties are not willing to sit down together and talk and believe in the possibility of reconciliation. I agree that as long as an individual believes (has been convinced or brainwashed to believe) that our humanity – our very existence – costs them anything they will not be able to come to the table and participate in the process of reconciliation. I have had quite a few people storm away from the reconciliation table as a result of this during my career. This sounds so simple and yet is so complicated. How do we get people to sit down with us to work on reconciliation and living together in peace if they have been convinced that our humanity takes something from them?

Is Not

The 100 billion dollar question: What do we do with the segment of our society whose intractable beliefs are predicated upon others being less than them or not existing at all? That science and facts and history are hoaxes and experts and intellectuals are the enemy? The group that I reference above do not fit into the argument for both sides-ism. Hate in all of its disgusting guises has no place in that discussion.

There are many white, ‘straight’, ‘Christian’, ‘middle class’, individuals (sorry about all of the quotation marks, but all of those words need qualification) who struggle with BLM, Act Up, peaceful protests and other acts of constitutionally protected speech that have been the vehicle for progress and advancing equity and inclusion for centuries. That is because they are exposed, on an extraordinary basis, to disinformation and misinformation. They are emotionally exhausted by the onslaught of negative input. (As we all are.) This makes it easier to manipulate them, trigger them, and herd them into division and resentment.

I am encouraged by those who sit through mandatory DEIAB training silently and experience an awakening, a transformation when a spark is lit, a seed is planted and their empathy and understanding of the value of diversity takes root. Often, these participants in my sessions will contact me privately after the session ends to share their transformation and tell me what they are thinking and feeling. We will discuss how to get past the discomfort inherent in difficult conversations so that they can participate in self-growth, acceptance instead of denial. I am focused on those individuals, people who are not avowed haters of diversity—fascists and white supremacists—but who are being influenced by them.

Self-Denial

My father, a tri-racial Puerto Rican, embodied internalized racism in ways that impacted me profoundly, and still does decades later. His denial of his heritage was evidenced by his regular proclamations that his blood was pure Spanish, not mixed with African blood or Taíno (indigenous Caribbean) blood. The implication is that his European white ancestors were of more value than his African and Taíno ancestors. Many BIPOC individuals struggle with this legacy of race-based slavery and colonialism. Centuries of being told that white people are superior because they held the power. My father was taught to be ashamed of who he was and how he looked. He passed those lessons in self-denial on to his children.

Denial

Denial is one word. A word that we need to give careful consideration when we refer to ourselves as ‘good communicators’ or ‘people’ people. Who are we envisioning when we imagine how good we are at communicating? Who comes to mind when we think of the people we are comfortable with? What are we denying about our own barriers to inclusion? How might we address that denial? One word at a time.

Antidote to Denial

In my previous blog post, the word that I shared was peace. I endeavor to facilitate experiences where people can come together and engage in constructive conversations about painful and difficult subjects. The methodologies that I employ to help participants to have peace of mind while embarking on this process include anonymous surveys, focus groups, online anonymizing tools that help people to be fully heard without feeling at risk of judgment and the resultant guilt that may accompany it.

These methods create opportunities for individuals to face the facts that they have been taught to deny. One conversation, one word at a time.

Onward!

Wendy Amengual Wark
June 28, 2024
Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC

[1] We did not say “bounces off of me and sticks on you” even though that would have been grammatically correct.

[2] American Sign Language

 

We Are Not Alone

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     Each year I endeavor to start anew with a fresh, positive outlook. I wish that for you, as well. Each of us has to navigate our private, personal struggles as well as the macro challenges that we are confronted with as a community. War, death by guns, food insecurity, climate change, racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and on and on. Typing this list is depressing in itself but much more so when I reflect on where we are globally as compared with say, January of 2009. So, I have tried to follow the adage and stay silent as I do not have much to say that is very ‘nice.’ Having to fight back against a relentless assault on democracy, equity, justice, inclusion, diversity, and access is not nice. It is not easy. It is not cheerful. It is exhausting and depressing to have to fight against those who are intent upon dragging us all back to the good ‘ole days when only a small percentage of people had any rights at all.

     I am not trying to ruin 2024 for you, I am actually trying to encourage you. I do not have to cite any recent events (unless you have been fortunate enough to have been completely unplugged for the past three or four weeks) for most of you to think “Here we go,” and then, perhaps let out a sigh of resignation.

     The arguments against diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are old tired screeds that had no basis in reality when they were hurled by ultra conservatives in the 1990s and have no basis in reality now. Based on substantial research data and results, we know that we do better work when we work with diverse groups of people. We know that people with diverse experiences, perspectives, and communications styles think differently, resulting in problems being solved more rapidly and especially, more effectively by diverse groups. We know that the more education people have, the less likely they are to experience unwanted pregnancy, poverty, and violence. We know that creating equal access (true equal access) brings engagement, success, and joy—actual joy to people in their work and in their studies!

     So, why are those who yell the loudest being given so much bandwidth? Why are their distortions of the truth being repeated by well-meaning intelligent people on social media and across the dominant media outlets? Why are public and private institutions making bad decisions about how to effectively manage free speech and remain committed to being diverse, inclusive, and accessible?

     Because bullies win by yelling and making a lot of noise—bluster. Bluster is distracting and upsetting and very effective at keeping us from doing the critical work that we must continue to do.

     My resolution for 2024: remain focused. Focus is a critical function when there are those intent on distraction us. Disturbing us. Ultimately, disappearing us. Every fascist regime throughout history has silenced those fighting to save democracy—journalists , academics, advocates, and activists—by disappearing them.

     We will not be disappeared. I will not be disappeared. I know that silence equals death. In that knowledge comes the understanding that I must speak up. I am not talking about having an urgent need to express my thoughts and opinions. I must speak up as a witness, advocate, ally, and activist. I have been in this space of speaking up for those who have been silenced since I was a child and so, If I cannot speak up, who can?

     We are a diverse nation. We are a diverse planet of people. We need each other to thrive or none of us thrive. Those who seek to rob our inclusion, equity, access, and value know this and so they will do their best to divide us—create wedges between us based on our differences—and conquer us. This is also a very old tactic. It is a very effective tactic and that is why it is dusted off and used again and again by those seeking to rob us of our rights to vote, to speak, to pursue happiness. They twist words and meanings to confuse and diminish their effectiveness. They state things that they know are patently untrue and wait for the bickering and debating to keep everyone distracted and then chip away at laws—rights and protections—that took centuries to attain.

     Yesterday I was speaking with my dear friends Derrick Kikuchi and his husband Craig Wiesner (owners of  Reach and Teach and activists for social equity and justice as well as providers of a sanctuary that gives us “hope that does not disappoint”), and they reminded me that I am not alone.

     As a practitioner of EEO/DEIBA one can feel isolated, targeted, and alone. We need to remind ourselves and each other that we are not alone. I am here for you. You are here for me. We are here together fighting the good fight, doing the important work.

     Maintaining focus is absolutely critical. It is hard to keep our focus when we are distracted, or disturbed, silenced or disappeared by bullies yelling lies and threats. I will stay calm and speak the truth. I encourage you to do the same.

     This is not about politics. This is about protecting ourselves, our planet, and the future.

     If you need an affirmation or reminder as to why you must continue to do this work that is exhilaratingly exhausting, please reach out. I am here for you—with you—as your ally, advocate, and friend.

     Wishing you peace, love, joy, and inclusion in 2024, and beyond!

     ~ Wendy

Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC

January 10, 2024

 

A Declaration

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A Declaration

A Declaration of Independence from Great Britain was signed 247 years ago by 56 white men, 34 of whom kept other human beings in bondage denying them the very freedom they themselves demanded.

Currently, in the United States, there is a small group of people who are impacting our rights, our independence by being disrespectful of our laws and boundaries, by responding to the pressures of current populist trends. How can I claim to want my rights, my freedoms protected while denying access to those same rights and freedoms for others? This is fundamental to civil rights, human rights.

I cannot imagine having independence without embracing interdependence. I first wrote about this ten years ago and a friend reminded me that Independence Day is the perfect time to reflect on how important it is that we remember that whether we like it or not, we are interdependent.

As an example of our interdependence on a global scale, I live in New York City and like many other cities across the United States, we have recently had to deal with unhealthy air quality as a result of smoke from fires in Canada. The smoke does not respect political borders. It responds to wind currents and air pressure.

I believe that interdependence, inclusion, diversity, equity, and access for all are critical to our independence. There is a tacit understanding that we must cooperate with each other if we want to get anywhere. The alternative is chaos. To be part of a mob that allows a few bullies to grab and push and pull and take what they want when they want it regardless of the rights of others. To disregard the damage that this causes.

I have always sought to find and nurture clarity out of chaos – to celebrate our independence – or the ideal of our independence as something that we must continue to aspire to. I see our interdependence as a path to our independence. Freedom from fascism, racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, ableism, and all other forms of discrimination.

Let’s demonstrate our commitment to independence by celebrating our interdependence. We can come together, and each contribute to a bountiful society. One bringing a dish of food, another building a table, another, playing music, and another making sure that everyone is served.

A Declaration of Interdependence, a 4 minute film celebrating interdependence. Enjoy! https://www.letitripple.org/adeclarationofinterdependence

Onward!

~ Wendy

Wendy Amengual Wark
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC
July 4, 2023

 

 

Take Affirmative Action Today!

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For decades people have pushed back against affirmative action laws. Those people rarely understood the letter or the spirit of affirmative action. I have been asked hundreds of times if affirmative action requires a quota, a set percentage of Black, indigenous, and other people of color or members of other underrepresented groups to be admitted to an academic institution. The answer is consistently ‘no’.

Organizations of all kinds continue to complain that they cannot find qualified members of underrepresented groups when they search for recruits either in academia or the workplace. This is why the laws requiring an effort were implemented in the first place.

Those organizations that implement inclusive strategies to achieve true diversity and equity do so with the understanding that inclusion takes work, action – affirmative action – just as any goal that one wants to achieve.

Resistance to diversity, equity and inclusion are not new in any sector. What is new is that a small minority group has effectively stripped our nation of successful strategies for achieving real diversity. They have flipped the dialogue on diversity and privilege – white privilege – claiming that institutional racism is not real. It is real. Institutional racism exists in organizations where people gain access and entry to elite educational institutions not based on their performance or merit, but an accident of birth. Legacy admissions to universities exist as they have for centuries. Legacy admissions are affirmative action. The result of the action is that a particular group of people’s privilege and access are consistently affirmed.

The school to work pipeline will not change because we wish it to be so. Diversity at all levels, at all institutions, will not occur as a result of positive thinking. The arduous process of making something a law does not occur without a cause. The effect of passing a law is the result of centuries of legal racial and other forms of discrimination.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments were passed because there were and are those who do not believe the everyone should be entitled to the same access and opportunity. This has never been about anyone’s inability or refusal to work hard. This has never been about anyone’s inability to meet the intellectual standards of our greatest academic institutions. This has always been about intentional exclusion. Always.

Today is the perfect day to rededicate your organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Take affirmative action to assure that those who are qualified, motivated, and underrepresented get access and are included. 

Onward!

Wendy Amengual Wark
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC
Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com

June 29, 2023

 

Fighting Words

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Fighting Words

I am a pacifist. I do not own a gun or any other weapons. I use words to combat to combat ignorance, hatred, and brutality and it is definitely time to fight.

 The increasingly dangerous assault on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) requires a coordinated and sustainable defense.

As a small business owner, I usually avoid entering into political discussions, but the body politic is at the greatest risk of my entire life. This has been many decades in the making and wishing it away, compromising, and conciliating clearly has not worked. We are in danger, and we must take action. All of us. Now. Failing means that we fall prey to those who, among other assaults on justice and equality, are trying to legalize child labor while simultaneously making certain human beings illegal. They are dangerous and relentless and amoral.

Those who have been conspiring to push civilization back to a time when less than one percent of the global population had 99 percent of the food, shelter, and representation depend on our division, frustration and exhaustion. They rely on our emotional responses to their irrational and illegal conduct. They expect us to eventually give up our rights and access and freedom.

I have interviewed many hundreds of people during investigations of discrimination claims. It is very easy to tell when most people are lying. It is equally difficult to tell when practiced liars lie. That is because they literally practice. They repeat their lies many times before sharing them with the public. Those lies are quoted in the media and further broadcast and amplified. The most practiced liars find others who will deny the truth with them begin quoting their lies, further amplifying them. Again, and again and again. This methodology is incredibly effective as those who do not know the truth can be effectively bamboozled.

Those who are adept at implementing this methodology are rewarded. Some have become phenomenally powerful members of government and industry as a result of lying. There seem to be no repercussions for doing so. On the contrary, I could name at least one dozen infamous people who are currently benefitting financially by willfully and intentionally misrepresenting the facts. As you read this, I am sure that you are picturing some of them.

The current assault on DEIA initiatives and programs that is being successfully launched by racists is intentional and unacceptable. Governmental representatives in several states are in the process of killing DEIA initiatives in the public and academic sectors as well as forcing private sector organizations with governmental contracts to do the same. This coincides with a concerted effort to censor books, free speech, and the study of history and the social sciences.

The destruction of forums for open and inclusive discourse replicates what happened in Germany, Italy, and elsewhere when fascists took control of those nations. Book burnings were a regular occurrence. Anyone who did not fit a very precise description of ‘us’ were persecuted, and that persecution ultimately escalated into the Holocaust.

Divisions are fomented and incited. Turning Blacks and Latinos against each other. Turning Jews and Asians against each other. Turning cisgender men against transgender women. Christians against the LGBTQI community. I could go on and on. We cannot allow ourselves to be divided. We cannot allow exclusion to win. We must fight. We must continue to fight.

I do not need to justify here why and how our communities, nations, and entire world benefit by embracing diversity and inclusivity, and requiring equity and access for all. The list is long and I have spent many, many years sharing it, with passion and data and evidence.

I do not need to explain why racism is bad. Why fascism is bad. Why discrimination of all kinds is bad. It should be obvious. It is even obvious to those currently vilifying being ‘woke.’ They know that everyone benefits when we live inclusively, but they espouse bizarro-world opposites to reality again and again and again.

I am tired. Incredibly tired. Everyone who does this work is. Tired of the lies. Tired of the gaslighting. Tired of the misinformation and disinformation. Tired of white fragility and tired of white supremacy.

I am so tired. Yet, I am not as tired as my ancestors were after 16 hours of cutting down sugar cane under the relentless Caribbean sun. I am not as tired as children who were chained to sewing machines on this very island of Manhattan for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. I am not as tired as the many millions who came before me who did not have the privilege to speak up without risking their lives and safety.

Decades ago, right-wing conservatives successfully turned the word ‘liberal’ into a derogatory word. They are attempting to do that again with the word ‘woke.’ I refuse to be sucked into their vortex of manipulation.

This is not just a debate about semantics. Silence does equal death. People are dying. People are being killed by racists who face minimal repercussions for committing murder.

Every single day, we – those of us who believe in diversity as a great thing, inclusion as a necessary thing, and equity as an absolute minimum requirement for survival – must persist and prevail and push back.

“But what can I do?” You ask.

  1. Get loud and stay loud. Call out racism, sexism, homophobia, antisemitism, ablism, and all forms of discrimination.
  2. Write your elected officials (this is especially critical at the local level: school boards, city councils, and state legislatures) and share your opinions and concerns.
  3. Pay attention! Encourage everyone who you know to read and listen and to pay careful attention to decisions being made by elected and appointed officials.
  4. Vote! And help other people, especially marginalized people, to register and then get to a place where they can vote.
  5. Amplify the voices of those who speak truth to power, voices that have been historically silenced and marginalized.
  6. Do not amplify the voices of the liars, gas lighters, haters, racists, and fascists.
  7. Do not be polite if someone dismisses fact as opinion. Facts are facts.
  8. Vote with your wallet. Make sure that every organization that you support is committed to DEIA and not just window-dressing. Find out if they are donating to politicians who are preaching hatred and do not contribute to that by purchasing their product or service.
  9. Connect with others who are fighting for equity and justice. Support each other, vent, cheer each other on. It is really important that we remind each other that we are not alone.
  10. Practice self-care and care for those around you. (Sometimes this means unplugging and taking a break from the doom and gloom of reality so that you can refuel and come back stronger and clearer and more focused on the mission.)

I need your help. I commit to continuing to work to keep a small group of extremists from destroying all that we have accomplished. We can only succeed if we do this together.

Onward!

~ Wendy 

Wendy Amengual Wark
Founding Partner
Inclusion Strategy Solutions
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC
Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com

 

The Many Shades of Racism and Many Shades of Passing

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Everyday Triggers

Every day I trepidatiously scan the latest news on the internet hoping to avoid the most egregious triggers. This week began with a debate on “white Hispanic” trending in social media regarding a Deputy Sheriff in Los Angeles who shot and killed a Black man. That debate was similar to the “blue dress / gold dress” debate of 2015, with the exception that it was about race, and racism, and death. As a woman who has spent too much of her adult life responding to the statement: “You don’t look Puerto Rican!” Meaning: “You look white,” these debates make me cringe. Yesterday had its share of reports of violence against people of color by law enforcement officials, politicians, and haters-in-general, but one story jumped out at me. “A white professor lied about being Afro-Latina for years.”

Colorization

I spend a great deal of time thinking about the construct of racial and ethnic identity. Throughout history there have been people who chose to pass as white (if they could pass as white) because they sought the privilege provided by passing safety from violence, job opportunities, improved housing conditions, etc. Many mixed-race people do not have to try to pass. Genetics are a funny thing. We do not all carry the same percentage of our ancestors’ DNA. We come out all mixed up. I have siblings with blond hair and blue or grey eyes and siblings with black hair and dark brown eyes. We have a range of skin tones. I was encouraged by my mother to stay out of the sun long before fears of skin cancer were a common concern, as she did not want me to get too brown.

The point of all of this is that we have been taught and conditioned for hundreds of years that there are clear advantages to being white. In recent years, people of color – Africans, descendants of Africans, Asians, descendants of Asians, Native Peoples, descendants of Native Peoples, and every possible combination of the above with varying degrees of European DNA mixed in – have begun to learn to value themselves. The assertion that Black Lives Matter, that people who are not 100% white matter, comes at the price of being attacked by those who disagree (aka racists). Those attacks may be verbal (hate speech): “You dirty spic!” Those attacks may be written (racist billboards) “Diversity = White Genocide!” Those attacks may be physical “The police shot into the crowd of protesters with rubber bullets at point blank range.”  

Co-opting Suffering

What this woman, especially as one in the academic sector wielding an incredible sphere of influence, did by impersonating people who are born into a world where those attacks and the threat of those attacks are a daily experience was to disavow the value of our lived experience. I once had a friend who said, “I cannot compete with you!” She was referring to my childhood of poverty and abuse, my first husband being killed in a taxi accident in Beijing, and other personal struggles and tragedies that I have experienced. She also referenced my being a Latina. This ‘icing on the cake’ apparently made it hard for a white woman to complain about how difficult her own life was. This was long before I was facilitating discussions on white privilege in my workshops, but her complaint created a breaking point for me. White, non-Hispanic / non-Latino people cannot even let us have our suffering. They even have to co-opt that!  I have survived being spit on, having a full soda can thrown at my head, having a bucket of water with laundry soap thrown in my face, in addition to many verbal racist attacks by people who did not like having dirty spics as neighbors in our public housing projects in Astoria, NY. These are traumas that I would gladly trade for a life of safety and prosperity or privilege.

Every time we are confronted with the assault of a white person passing as a person of color, we are forced to face our internalized racism. The many shades of internalized racism within our own communities that focus on whether someone is being Black enough or Latino enough. The debate over how Hispanic a ‘white Hispanic’ person is versus an ‘Afro-Hispanic’ or ‘Afro-Latino’ causes us to fracture further and further apart. Racism has been part of Latino culture for as long as there have been Latinos (think of the Conquistadors). As we gain self-realization, self-esteem, and work to unlearn the internalized racism that we have been taught for millennia, we must remember that teaching to value shades of color perpetuates the Spanish system of la Casta* which was a very effective way of keeping people divided and disempowered. As long as we focus on shades of color as a value system we perpetuate racism. This perpetuates our division, our separateness, our lack of connection and inclusion, and ultimately our ascendance to full privilege. We have an opportunity to stop reacting to the racism that we have been taught and to start intentionally being who we are: the legacy of those who came before and new, beautiful, and whole people.

Onward!

Wendy Amengual Wark
September 4, 2020

Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com
www.InclusionStrategy.com

* La Casta [Spanish  categorization of race in the colonies]
 

What Difference Does Difference Make? Is the Candidate Qualified?

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What Difference Does Difference Make?

I have been asking this question for decades: What difference does difference make? It came to me when I was confronted by very privileged individuals who could not even imagine what life would be like for those who are not white, Christian, educated, socioeconomically secure, heterosexual, without a major disability, born in the USA, and for the most part, male. I needed to find ways to get through the resistance to inclusion, to create a bridge that would help those who were taught that difference is bad to cross the chasm from ignorance to inclusion. I needed to develop a methodology to help these people to unlearn the lies that they had been taught all of their lives: that they were not part of the problem of racism nor the cure; that all people who worked hard, followed the golden rule, and kept out of trouble would be able to be successful in American society; that affirmative action was unfair and helped those who were less capable, lazy, and did not deserve the jobs that they got; that the majority of Americans have not been victims of racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia, ableism, and other forms of hate; and that discrimination is not a cornerstone of privilege. I have been told hundreds of times by individuals who actively reinforced institutional racism and sexism that they were neither sexist nor racist. Usually, I was told this vehemently.

Intersectionality

With the announcement that Democratic Presidential candidate, Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his Vice-Presidential running mate, the internet and media worlds lit up with an incredible range of responses. Most of the statements, however, have not focused on Ms. Harris’ political position on various matters. Most of the statements have focused on her gender, race, or ethnicity, in other words, her intersectionality. As the first woman of Indian and Jamaican descent to be nominated (presumed at the time of this writing) Vice Presidential candidate by one of the two major political parties in the United States, comments regarding Ms. Harris’ intersectionality have abounded. Kamala Harris identifies as a Black woman. She is representative of millions of Americans of mixed ‘race’ and ethnicity. Many of us were deeply, positively impacted by having a President who was of mixed race when we elected President Barack Obama. Now, we have that opportunity again. The opportunity is to normalize and embrace our intersectionality rather than engage in debates over how Black or how Indian Ms. Harris is. At Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC, we discuss intersectionality in many of our workshops. I, for example, cannot dissect my intersectionality. I cannot only be a woman today, without being a person who is in her 60s, or someone who is half Puerto Rican and half Irish descent. All of my distinct demographic identities combine to make me who I am. They have always shaped and impacted how others see me, respond to me, and treat me. I am the sum of my parts. I am the sum of my experiences and perceptions. I do not need to be aware of the cause and effect of those perceptions for them to exist. I, like Kamala Harris, am among the ‘offspring of the colonial embrace’ – a phrase first coined by Paul Scott, author of The Jewel in the Crown. We have European, African, Asian, and Native American DNA to varying degrees. Kamala Harris is not Indian or Jamaican or African or European, she is American, very American. I love Aurora Levins Morales’ poem, “Child of the Americas” for this specific reason: we are new and cannot go back to those elements of which we are comprised.

Is the Candidate Qualified?

We have an opportunity to pay attention to how we describe and define each other. Kamala Harris is many things as a human being. The most important things that we need to focus on in determining if she should be the next Vice President of the United States, is her qualifications for the position. As a Senator, a former State Attorney General, and a former District Attorney, Ms. Harris clearly meets the qualifications of a dedicated public servant who knows the law and has navigated the pressures incorporated in the positions that she has held.

This is not a political endorsement, but rather an illustration of the recommendations that we make to our clients on a regular basis. When asked for assistance with increasing diversity in organizations, especially at the leadership level, we are often given the proviso that the candidates need to be qualified. My consistent response is that you should never even interview a candidate who does not meet or exceed the qualifications for the position, even if the candidate is a white male. I will further argue that, based on the adversity that Ms. Harris has had to contend with as the child of a Black man and a brown woman, both immigrants, she is more qualified than one who has had a life of privilege. Privilege, for anyone who bristled when reading the previous sentence, does not mean that your life is free of grief or adversity, but that people of color, especially women of color have to deal with all of those things on top of the double edged sword of living in a world rife with racism and sexism.

Representation

When I think about the question: What difference does difference make? The answer to me is obvious: Difference makes a tremendous difference! I did not have a single Puerto Rican teacher until I was in college and did not have any Puerto Rican professors in graduate school. This is astonishing to me still as one who was born and raised in New York City. I had a Puerto Rican baseball coach as an adolescent and he provided me with an incredibly positive role model as a man of color who, despite tremendous odds, achieved his master’s degree. Kamala Harris represents so many people who are not accustomed to seeing people like themselves in positions of power. She represents so many people whose parents came to the United States because of its reputation as a democracy where anyone, everyone has an opportunity to succeed. That representation also means that issues of importance to women, Black people, children of immigrants, people of mixed race and heritage, have a greater likelihood of their concerns and issues being addressed.

To those who are threatened by difference, I want you to think about your role models, mentors, teachers, influencers. Who in your world has held a mirror up to you so that you can see your future self? Who has created a bridge for you to cross from poverty to economic stability? Who shared stories of overcoming obstacles so that you could have hope of a better, brighter future? Those of us who are the majority of the human beings on this planet have had too few of those representatives. Kamala Harris has not been successful because she is a woman of color, but despite being a woman of color who had to and continues to overcome barriers that most white people cannot even begin to imagine. Representation matters. History matters. If we are to create a future based on equity and inclusion, difference matters.

Onward!

Wendy Amengual Wark
Partner
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC

New York City
August 16, 2020

Wendy@InclusionStrategy.com
www.InclusionStrategy.com

 

The Best Ways to Hold Companies Accountable for Increasing Representation of Black Senior Leaders

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It is always affirming to be asked to provide an opinion on diversity matters as a diversity expert. Matthew Boyle a journalist with Bloomberg Business asked me:  What have you learned about the best ways to hold companies accountable for increasing representation of Black senior leaders?

Here is my long response to Matthew. (The referenced article is linked below.)

Organization’s C-suites, Boards of Directors, and shareholders can hold each other and, most importantly, themselves accountable for increasing representation of Blacks (and Latinos and Females) in leadership by following a simple set of protocols:

  1. The skills and competencies required for the role are established (rather than requiring an MBA, for example, because the person who had the job for thirty years had an MBA).
  2. A job description is developed based on the actual Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQs) for the position.
  3.  Long lasting relationships are developed with organizations that facilitate the recruitment of Black, Latino, and Female candidates by Board and C-Suite Members, in addition to HR staff.
  4. Through our “Unconscious Bias” and “Inclusive Recruitment through Hiring” Workshops, my partner, Paula Edgar and I help hiring committee members to become aware of  and manage their implicit or unconscious biases regarding candidates (biases regarding candidates names, addresses, colleges, etc.) when screening resumes and conducting interviews.
  5. Organizations that are serious about diversifying their leadership designate a minimum acceptable percentage for candidates who are Black, Latino, or Female for leadership positions. An agreed upon percentage of those being interviewed for leadership positions are reserved for Black, Latino, or Female candidates. This is not a hiring quota. It is not a lowering of the bar or standards of an organization. Everyone who is interviewed must meet or exceed the requirements for the position. It is  acting on a commitment to increase diversity at the senior level of an organization.
  6. Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC  has established interviewing methodologies to minimize the impact of those biases including: developing uniform interview questions; managing the way that those questions are asked; and establishing consistent protocols for how candidates are ranked and selected by the hiring committee.

These are tangible, measurable best practices that can be implemented by any organization regardless of size or sector. 

“Walmart’s Black Executives Lost Ground Since Five Years Ago” by Matthew Boyle Bloomberg Business, June 18, 2020

If your organization is not being strategic about increasing diversity at all levels, isn’t today the perfect day to begin?

Onward!

Wendy Amengual Wark
Partner
Inclusion Strategy Solutions LLC

June 18, 2020