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25 June 2020 / Guide & Reference
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Copy LinkCompanies’ executive leadership have likely already issued public statements about renewed commitment to racial justice. Maybe they have also pledged financial support to related causes. Those actions are great, but such one-time measures will not lead to sustainable and tangible racial equality in the workplace.
What can you do? We have a “yes, and” answer to that question. Yes, do all the impactful things suggested on the myriad lists circulating right now: educate yourself; reflect on your own conscious and unconscious biases; invite different points of view and experiences into decision-making; support minority-owned businesses; donate money and/or time to advocacy organizations; be an active sponsor for the careers of black colleagues; and many other ideas.
And we must move past the awkwardness of conversations about race to challenge questionable behaviors and comments when we see and hear them. In her 2014 TED Talk, “Color blind or color brave?”, Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Chicago-based Ariel Investments, said, “I'll be the first one to tell you, this subject matter [of race] can be hard, awkward, uncomfortable—but that's kind of the point. So I think it's time for us to be comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation about race…We cannot afford to be color blind. We have to be color brave.”
Being color brave in the workplace will surely involve difficult conversations on both individual and collective levels. Of critical importance is the giving and receiving of feedback. When done well, feedback changes perspectives, builds trust and connection,
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