A recent racial-discrimination lawsuit is bringing to light the lack of diversity management and accountability at UCLA’s School of Medicine. Its administrators failed to take action against students who publically demeaned Black medical professor Dr. Christian Head.
A petition on change.org, started by NAACP national board member Willis Edwards, is rallying the community to support Dr. Head. As of this morning, 83,534 signatures had been collected.
Joking Gone Too Far Or Racism & Retaliation
As part of an annual “roast” at UCLA, medical students created an image of a gorilla on all fours with Dr. Head’s face. A naked white manwith supervisor Dr. Gerald Burke‘s face superimposedwas pictured sodomizing the gorilla.
This photo was displayed at a school-sponsored graduation event in 2006 to more than 200 people, which included faculty, professional peers, students and visiting guests. Other slides were also shown that implied Dr. Head was underperforming as a professional.
“I’ve never had to think about things before, the racial aspect, in terms of white and Black before, especially at work,” says Dr. Head in the video. After the image was displayed, “I pulled [the supervisor] aside and I said to him, ‘How can you let this happen’ and he just smiled and chuckled.”
Want a Career Keep Quiet
Other UCLA officials also were quick to dismiss Dr. Head’s requests for disciplinary action against the students. He was told by fellow faculty members: “If you want tenure and you make a big stink about this, they’re going to crush you.”
Dr. Head did receive tenure during this time period. He is the first Black professor to receive tenure in the Head and Neck Surgery department and one of only two Black teaching surgeons on staff. However, his pay subsequently was cut and he claims he was denied prime teaching opportunities that could have advanced his career.
He filed the lawsuit in late April in Los Angeles County Superior Court against TheRegentsof the University ofCalifornia, a 26-member board that appoints and governs the university leadership. Foley Lyman Law Group is representing Dr. Head.
UCLA’s response to the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Times featured a statement from spokesman Phil Hampton: They had “investigated this matter and found that the evidence does not substantiate the claims of unlawful activity.”
Diversity in the Workplace: 3 Ways to Stop Racial Bias
It was UCLA administrators’ “lack of action” that hurt the most, explains Dr. Head in the video above.
This need for accountability and mindfulness is just as critical to corporations that are looking to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces for employees.
- CEO Commitment: Hold everyone accountable with a no-tolerance policy for bigotry.Generating buy-in for diversity-management values starts at the top of an organization, most frequently exemplified by CEO commitment. These values are essential to maintaining an inclusive environment, including by race, ethnicity, religious background, gender, orientation and disability. Watch our diversity web seminar on CEO commitment for more best practices.
- Diversity Training: Workplace diversity includes ALL employees, so providing mandatory diversity training is critical. This is especially important for showing white men how they fit into diversity. Eighty-six percent of The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity now require diversity training for managers, compared with 78 percent five years ago. Sixty-eight percent require diversity training for their entire workforces, compared with 58 percent five years ago.For more information, read about our diversity-training courses. Also readBlack History Month Facts & Figures, which you can use for educational purposes.
- Resource Groups: These business resources are the most proven way of increasing diversity-management results. “Diversity in the workplace is about making a place comfortable enough to flourish” and removing fear of judgment and stereotypes, said Dr. Claude Steele, Stanford University School of Education dean and former provost of Columbia University, at a DiversityInc event. (Watch the video above.) Reducing feelings of threat and isolation allows all employees to feel included and improves employee engagement, productivity and, ultimately, innovation. For more on stereotypes, readChallenges in Diversity Management: How Do Stereotypes Affect UsandJeremy Lin & Racism: 3 Ways to Stop Dangerous Stereotypes.
For more on diversity management best practices, read Diversity-Management Case Studies Reveal Why Companies Rise & Fall in the DiversityInc Top 50. Also, read DiversityInc’s Black History Month Facts & Figures and The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Blacks.
