December 4 - 10, 2020
On June 19, 2020, I made a commitment to educate myself on the
lingering effects of racism, discrimination, and bias in America. Every
day through June 18, 2021, I will read an article or book chapter,
listen to a
podcast, watch a movie or documentary, view a webinar, or do something
substantive to educate myself in these areas. As part of that
commitment, I will post to this blog each Friday with a list of what
I've done over the past week as well as any pertinent thoughts or
reflections.
Today's post covers the week of December 4-10, 2020.
Former CEO of the Gates Foundation Jeff Raikes writes this article for Forbes in which he points to unconscious bias as a reason the phrase "Defund the Police" sounds objectionable to many white people. Raikes writes about his own struggle with bias and how he has come to realize that discomfort is part of the process toward empathy and action.
Ben Hecht, CEO of Living Cities, authors this article for the Harvard Business Review. Hecht writes about a moment six years ago when his employees of color informed him that Living Cities was a difficult place to work. He goes on to talk about why D&I initiatives have failed and what has worked at his organization. "Instead of trying to change some people to fit the organization, we must focus on transforming our organizations to fit all people." H/T to Tanner Gardner for the recommendation.
This document from FSG, Policy Link, and Just Capital outlines corporate strategies for creating racial equity at the company, community, and societal level. Inside the company, the document argues for the redesign of HR policies, expansion of worker power and voice, and designing products, services, and operations centered on racial equity. At the community level, recommendations center on corporate philanthropy, addressing local policies, and environmental justice. For the broader society, the authors recommend national-level lobbying and advocacy, diverse and inclusive investment strategies, and communications that advance racial equity.
Andre Perry, author of Know Your Price: Valuing Black Lives and Property in America’s Black Cities and fellow at the Brookings Institute, is interviewed in the Wall Street Journal about the devaluing of homes in predominantly Black neighborhoods. Perry has studied housing prices in these neighborhoods and cities, and even when controlling for things like education, crime, and walkability, those homes are underpriced by about 23%. This leads to a vicious cycle of a low tax base and worse infrastructure. Perry has several suggestions for how to close some of these gaps and help families of color build wealth.
This article by Carroll Bogert and Lynnell Hancock for the Marshall Project investigate the origins of the term "superpredator" and the consequences of its use and proliferation by the media in the mid-1990s. When John DeIulio Jr. coined the phrase 25 years ago, he predicted that a new wave of 30,000 young murderers, rapists, and muggers would be roaming the American streets by 2000. Instead, juvenile murder arrests fell by more than two-thirds. The term cemented in the minds of many Americans an association between Black youth and criminal behavior.
More than 30 CEOs are backing a startup called OneTen, which aims to create jobs and training programs for non-college educated Black Americans. The startup has raised more than $100M and hopes to avoid the pitfalls of past job programs. Merck CEO Ken Frazier, one of the leaders spearheading the effort, said the program is designed to create family-sustaining jobs and that more than 35 companies have pledged to hire workers from the program.
UCLA and Columbia law professor Kimberele Crenshaw discusses intersectionality in this interview from Time magazine. Crenshaw asserts that inequality must be viewed through the lens of several social identities, not just race. "Being able to attend to not just unfair exclusion but also, frankly, unearned inclusion is part of the equality gambit."
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