Silence is consent. Black Lives Matter.
I would like to state that I truly understand the pain of my black colleagues and friends in the USA, but it is impossible for me to claim that because of my own skin color. Writing this from an office in Switzerland, as a white woman of privilege, the issue of racism could all seem quite remote, but after so much time travelling, working and living across the US, I am acutely aware of the disconnect there between black and white that seems to be getting worse and worse every year (or maybe thanks to camera phones and social media, we are finally getting visibility on a reality that has always existed).
Since the 2020 death of George Floyd, a number of people found themselves once again speaking with friends, families and colleagues about another pointless loss of life. There were other people not speaking about this at all, or who were left wondering what all the fuss is about. Personally, I am so angry and frustrated that racial intolerance and ignorance continues so blatantly, and I am also terribly sad - in this instance, generations of people who continue to struggle for chances to be valued members of American society and/or who have broken through to be viewed as “positive” society contributors - still being treated as threats/second class citizens/exceptions/invisible. There are many parallels to South Africa during and post apartheid rule.
The issue isn’t restricted to the USA. I live in a part of Switzerland where the N word is still used, and where I’ve watched grocery store staff throw out the fresh fruit that has been touched but not purchased by non whites. I’ve had strangers spit on me when walking down the street holding hands with non white friends in London. I’ve had police in Sydney accost my non white friends and harass them, when it was clearly me in the group who was causing the public nuisance. Waiters have shooed my black friends away from stores and cafes in Beijing, but then let them re-enter once it was clear that I was part of their group.
As “developed” nations, we have too many blind spots when black professionals are told they're equally valued and liked whilst working shoulder to shoulder with white colleagues, but who never get invited to join those colleagues at lunch. Professionals who are awesome in their field, but who feel alone, insecure and under special scrutiny as the only black person on the leadership team. Professionals who have no role models of their "own" so miss the chance to be inspired by “someone who looks like me”; and then struggle to understand how to be an effective role model to black employees coming up through the ranks.
Professionals who feel compelled to ruin their natural hair for something more fitting to “white corporate". Or who have grown tired of bucking the stereotypes for dress, speech, food, etc; and so either abandon their heritage completely, or wind up conforming purposefully to the stereotypes, just to reduce the noise they have to deal with otherwise. Don't get me started on companies who boast of their D&I initiatives, but think a "token" black hire in middle management is good enough. And you can insert Hispanic or Chinese or Indian or any other non white for these hypocrisies too.
Of course, we are always going to notice skin color in the same way as we notice blonde hair, short height, blue eyes, bad teeth, visible tattoos and piercings, bulging muscles and more. Somehow though, we have to find a way to continue talking about how and why these physical differences should result in racism because (a little like alcohol or drug addiction) if you don’t talk about it and don’t admit it exists, you haven’t got a hope in heck of ever sorting it out. And nowhere in the world, and especially not in the “free” world should people be getting hurt or dying, or missing out on education or healthcare or jobs just because of their skin color.
So what can be done at this point in time to achieve better equality across people of all skin colors?
I don't have a definitive answer. Personally I am comfortable demanding equality, because my upbringing and subsequent travels around the world have had meant I’ve many times received the kindness of complete strangers, to the point where I know deeply that skin colors are simply visual descriptors; that race, sexuality, gender, politics and religion are simply labels; that none of these things have actually defined the human qualities and values of the people I have met. Would equality be as important to me without those experiences? And would travel guarantee a mindset change when many simply don’t have that opportunity, and others who are seasoned global travellers still struggle to open their minds to ways of life and people who “aren’t as good as where I come from”
I do believe racism will always exist in the same way as elements of discrimination will always exist. It is human nature to make comparisons and choices, and judgements which could stem from ignorance and fear (in part due to distorted media reports), negative personal experiences, suspicion of the unknown, beliefs impressed upon us by our church communities plus our current and aspirational societies, from stereotypes learnt as children etc - and this applies both ways - black (or brown or yellow or red) to white, and white to black (or brown or yellow or red) and all the beautiful skin colors in between.
I have faith that every little effort that each of us make can move change along, but it will only happen IF people like you and I are prepared to speak up.
I think how women today can enjoy so many privileges thanks to the past efforts of the suffragette and the women's liberation movements - we can vote, have our own bank accounts, and work outside of our households thanks to people who put themselves at risk and spoke out repeatedly, which got the ball rolling on equality for women. I think how proud LGBTQ people across many countries of the world, are finally enjoying basic human rights and freedoms, thanks to the efforts of those who were prepared to bear the risks of speaking out repeatedly, to validate the LGBTQ community as being members of equal value in a “normal” society.
Full equality hasn’t yet been achieved for women or our LGBTQ groups, but we’ve come a long way, by everyday people, making their voices heard - protesting, campaigning, writing or just endorsing appropriate articles and social media posts. Making an effort to be educated on the issues being faced, naming and shaming the prejudiced comments and behaviours of others, not spending our money with companies who tolerate prejudice or racism, or simply being more accepting and welcoming in our own day to day actions - any or all of these things will help change to happen.
We have to use our right to vote. Human rights changes have a better chance if they are owned by a presidential or prime ministerial agenda that is wholly endorsed by their voters and constantly referenced in our media. We also have to use our votes for people and parties who will action changes to the biases in our legal, education and government systems; and who will address the excesses of “force” in our approach to law enforcement.
I’m not a fan of affirmative action for hiring to enable workforce equality, because that form of positive discrimination just creates a different type of inequality and resentment. We can however focus on reducing or even eliminating recruitment bias to ensure the person with the best potential for the job, actually gets hired. Within our work forces, we have to give “miniority” groups at least the same opportunities for professional development and mentoring. There’s the well used comment about women having to work twice as hard as a man to be appreciated - if it has any truth, then it will apply to the struggle of minority groups as well, so we can smooth that pathway by finding opportunities for those employees to have the chance to be seen, heard and successful in the workplace. When our workforce isn’t representative of the communities we operate in, or the customers we serve, our company leaders need to take action to improve that, and performance measures and financial penalties can be used as levers to hasten that progress.
I do believe that it is essential that all actions need to capture “hearts and minds” to achieve better equality across people of all skin colors, not just because this is the right and fair thing to do, but also because it is commercially smart - meaningful and sustainable change won’t happen without this.
Finally, we have to be as comfortable talking about skin color as comfortably as we talk about the color of a shirt or socks. I do wonder if “whites" experience discomfort with when to reference Black vs African American vs people of color, etc, etc. I observed this dilemma when Aboriginal Australians did great work in moving white Australians away from ethnic slurs, but then created confusion as the politically correct descriptor kept changing to the point where whites avoided referencing them for fear of using the wrong label and being accused as racist.
I feel sick that it could so easily be my niece, or a friend's husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, son or daughter that I'm next seeing on the news - just another black person death statistic. I will do whatever I can to help change to happen. Because Black Lives, along with all other lives, should be equally valued. They matter.
About the Author
Leanne Morris is well known as a both an outspoken advocate and critic of the HR profession. With long standing networks across 94 countries in all specialist areas of the function, and a multi- continent work history, she is a sought after subject matter expert on international HR hiring trends and HR hiring best practice.