Political and cultural commentator David Brooks wrote a column in The New York Times that ran during the holidays while most people were not working. He cited a column in Anthropology Now, which was published in 2018, and asserted that diversity training doesn’t work. I agree. Since starting DiversityInc 23…
Tag: Ask The White Guy
The Platinum Plan: How Trump Increased His Black Vote by 50% and What We Can Learn From It
Do you know what Donald Trump’s “Platinum Plan” was? Most Black people I know do. Most white people have never heard of it. The plan — a two-page document released just weeks before the 2020 election — details the four pillars of Trump’s commitment to Black Americans (Opportunity, Security, Prosperity…
Are We Self-Destructive?: What The 2020 Election Cliffhanger Tells Us About Ourselves
A good friend of mine sent me an interesting article two days after Election Day 2020 and asked me what I thought. I’ll warn you: If you’re white and have never read an analysis like this, prepare yourself. It’s tough love — from as early as the headline: “America’s Problem…
How to Solve the “We Can’t Find Them” Problem
Although Wells Fargo has been in the news lately, “we can’t find them” is an excuse I’ve heard hundreds of times over the years as well. The difference between Wells Fargo and other companies whose leadership teams have never even tried (Google, Facebook, Oracle, the Academy Awards) is that Wells…
Why Capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black Still Matters for Cultural Competence and Accurate Representation
With the Black Lives Matter movement still in full force, corporations paying more attention to diversity and inclusion, and leaders of African descent being placed in the forefront, the debate about the capitalization of “Black” in mainstream media has been one of high significance. Cultural identity has been at the…
We White People Need to Own This
We will be deluged by Martin Luther King articles and columns today. Some will be excellent, like the one Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote. But most will be saccharine sweet and not say what needs to be said. Fifty years after Martin Luther King was killed, our society is still white…
'Regardless Of,' 'It Doesn't Matter' Bigoted Phrases in Common Use
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is speaking about race as I write this. Humiliated by his boss, he’s trying his best to sound like a nice guy who doesn’t believe that Nazis and people who oppose Nazis are equivalent. He is going to try a diversity effort at the State…
Diversity Management Is Neither Conservative Nor Liberal
In the recent Google controversy, Damore, the young man who wrote the 10-pagememo that got him fired, has cast his firing as being liberal (Google) versus conservative (Damore). It’s neither. The media, especially the “conservative” media,is missing the point. Google exists to provide return on equity to its shareholders.Money doesn’t…
Black History Month Timeline and Facts & Figures
Black History Month is a time to commemorate achievement.DiversityInc provides a list of the important dates and relevant demographics you need to know. “Negro History Week” was established in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, an NAACP leader, educator and historian, to recognize the central role Blacks played in the development…
National Hispanic Heritage Month Timeline and Facts & Figures
National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 byrecognizing the history, culture and contributions of Latino Americans. HispanicHeritage Week was commemorated in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson andexpanded to a month in 1988. This isthe perfect time to increase your entire company’sawareness of the very…