Encouraging Transformative Solutions: 2024 Equity Pledge Challenge

 

By Kim Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com

 

With the onset of a new year, I enter cautiously with love, wishing for world peace and goodwill to all. I know it is a tall wish and at times I confess that I feel hopeless for the state of humanity. With war raging in the middle east and eastern Europe, with 2024 being an election year in the United States, and with mass immigration taking place globally where people are fleeing violence in their home country and seeking asylum in safer countries, society has much to be concerned about. What can one person do about such global issues? These issues are very complex and take a village of minds to solve. But one must wonder, what is in the heart of the people tasked with solving these matters? Do these leaders have a heart for human rights and equity?

 

As many of you may or may not know, I am an alumna of U.C. Berkeley which in 2012 initiated an institute to study and produce research about policy and “remediate the processes of exclusion, marginalization, and structural inequality—what we call othering—in order to build a world based on inclusion, fairness, justice, and care for the earth—what we call belonging.”

 

The Othering & Belonging Institute recently published a 7-minute video which opens a conversation around safety, what it means, and the need for a society to transform from an old paradigm of hierarchy, to reimagining a society of equity where “excess and scarcity balance to sustain everyone,” and where “vibrant communities coexist with mutual respect.”

 

I offer this video to you to inspire you to work to create transformative solutions within your sphere of influence and to reimagine a world where equity and inclusion is centered.

 

Rethinking National Security: How To Tell A New Story In Which Everyone Belongs by the U.C. Berkeley Othering & Belonging Institute: here

I would love to hear if this video inspired you to do something different and I challenge you to make a pledge to change something in your sphere of influence in 2024.

 

To learn more about the Distinctive Voice Consulting Mission and training philosophy, visit: here or email any questions and your 2024 equity pledge to: DistinctiveVoiceConsulting@gmail.com

 

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Let’s Keep the Conversation about Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Moving Forward

 

By Kim Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com

November 2023

After the acquittal of George Zimmerman over the murder of teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, three Black female organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opel Tometi, created a Black centered political movement to raise social awareness of issues facing African Americans. It began with a hash-tag, #BlackLivesMatter in 2013 (BLM) and this movement grew with momentum as everyday citizens used cell phones to capture law enforcement brutally murdering African-Americans during police arrests.

 

The BLM movement reached a pinnacle in 2020 with the murder of George Floyd by law enforcement and during the Covid-19 Pandemic. People and corporations began to support BLM as well as an interest in learning about systemic racism. Businesses like mine could barely keep up with the demand. Then came the backlash among folks who found discussion around equity, diversity, and inclusivity divisive and anti-white. This backlash was supported by federal legislation by the 45^th President of the United States’ “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping in September of 2020. This order directed federal agencies to end training about diversity, equity, and inclusion, citing the training as divisive. There was also legislation by several states that followed suit, moving the pendulum back in the other direction of maintaining the status quo of European American dominant culture values in the United States.

 

I believe that this legislation, among other causes, has been instrumental in the decline of support of the BLM movement. In June of 2023, the Pew Center released a survey that found that fewer adults support the BLM movement today than a year ago (51 percent today versus 56 percent in 2022). What is more fascinating is the demographic breakdown of those who continue to support the BLM movement versus those who do not. The 5,073- person Pew survey found that:

 

·       Black adults are more likely to support the BLM movement at 81%, versus 63% of Asian adults, 61% Hispanic adults, and 42% white adults

·       64% of adults ages 18-29 support BLM

·       52% of 30–49-year-olds support BLM

·       46% of 50–64-year-olds support BLM

·       41% of people 65 and older support BLM

·       84% of people who identified as Democrats support BLM

·       82% of people who identify as Republicans oppose BLM

 

My takeaway from these stats is that we are a nation divided by age, race, and political party. Some folks believe equity and inclusion is beneficial while others believe that talking about how systems create disparate outcomes for people based on race, class, gender, and sexual orientation, is divisive.

 

I find this topic fascinating. At DVC, I purpose to facilitate conversations about race, class, gender, and other diverse aspects of identity in a gracious, affirming and learning environment. To this end I have created a new workshop titled, “Why Should I Care about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion?” In this workshop, participants will have a conversation about what they believe is divisive about equity and inclusion. This discussion will be followed up with exercises to unpack aspects of diversity, understanding systemic racism and privilege. Participants will leave with a better understanding of why equity, diversity, and inclusion benefits everyone (including themselves!).

To learn more about this new two-hour introductory workshop email: DistinctiveVoiceConsulting@gmail.com

 

 

We Can Do Better

 By Kim Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com 

 

Being the target of a racist statement hurts. I remember in college, reeling from the accusation by a white student, that I got into U.C. Berkeley as a minority student, not because of my mental acumen. Fast forward to today, some 40 years later, and I suffer again as I listen to my adult child tell me a story about them being the target of a racist statement. In 2023, I would imagine that people have grown to understand that we, as people from different racial ancestries, are not each other’s enemy. Yet, there are still forces in our culture that divide people, pitting us against one another. When our society is fueled by anger and division stemming from some of our nation’s political leaders, one needs to critically think about who, or what, is being gained by the division. Because of this division I have a job but I would love to see the day when my skills of equity, diversity and inclusivity training are unnecessary.

 

Recently, one of my adult children told me the story of being at work and monitoring their place of employment for safety. My adult child was partnered with a co-worker and the two of them were entering a building and a person held the door for them to let them in the building. My child and his co-worker told the person that for safety purposes, they should not let anyone into the building, but rather make everyone use their key card. This person, from the dominant culture, mumbled to my child of color and his co-worker of color that “he didn’t like Black people.” I was crushed when my adult child told me this story. I experience this bigotry, in my training I hear the bigotry experienced by others, and now this bigotry has come full circle and is experienced by one of my own despite the work that I do to eradicate it. I work diligently through my training, to create a world where no one should be subject to bigotry. I asked my child what they did and my child shared that the incident was reported to leadership.

 

This pattern of behavior can be found in the “Common Patterns of Whites” by Dr. Kathy Obear, a leading expert in conflict and change management to create inclusive environments, here. I would like to draw your attention to pattern #11, whites “resent taking direction from a person of color.”  My heart not only goes out to my child and their work colleague, but, I also feel sadness for the person that professed their hatred for Blackness. Where did he learn this? Did he feel empowered after saying these words? Did he believe he took back his power with his words of hatred?

 

It is important for us as a society to have conversations about race, class, and gender to unearth the source of negative feelings and release them for good. But many people are uncomfortable talking about these issues for fear of being shamed and ostracized. There are also some Americans who are comfortable with the current American standards that reflect those of European ancestry, that works for them. We live in two Americas and when these groups come together and conflict arises, we create borders and divisions to reinforce our separateness. This is why at Distinctive Voice Consulting I create training using adult teaching models to create learning in a shame free, educational environment to help bridge divides and create inclusivity. It is my vision that these two Americas become one in the spirit of what the country’s founding fathers imagined.

 

To learn more about the Distinctive Voice Consulting Mission and training philosophy, visit: here or email any questions to: DistinctiveVoiceConsulting@gmail.com

 

Let’s Work to Heal

By Kimberly Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

September 2023

“Why can’t we all just get along,” questioned Rodney King, after the Los Angeles riots in 1992. The riots erupted after the acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with usingexcessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King in March of 1991.

Fast forward to today in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Montgomery riverfront park on August 5, 2023 and we see a similar brutal beating of a uniformed Black riverboat worker by white boaters. The attack of the Black riverboat worker occurred because the worker asked several white owners of a pontoon boat to move their boat because it was parked in the spot where a larger commercial riverboat was scheduled to dock. Many folks posted video on social media of the riverboat employee talking to several people from the illegally parked pontoon explaining how it needed to be moved. One of the pontoon passengers grew tired of the request and hit the riverboat worker who was simply doing his job. What followed was an epic brawl that started when white pontoon boat passengers physically assaulted the Black riverboat worker, and ended with passengers from the docked riverboat coming to the rescue of the riverboat worker. The video can be seen here.

When I look at this incident from an equity, diversity and inclusion perspective, two resources come to mind: Common Patterns of Whites by Dr. Kathy Obear, shared by Dr. Robin DiAngelo, which can be found here, and White Supremacy Culture by Tema Okun which can be found here. Of the many patterns of behavior within the Dr. Obear framework, I see #11, whites resenting taking direction from a person of color, as a key issue here. From the Tema Okun construct, I see “fear” (white supremacy culture of instilling fear), as the tactic used in this incident.

In my curiosity to get more perspective concerning this event from someone I know who lives in Alabama, I reached out to a white associate who shared that she was embarrassed that her home state was associated with an episode like this one, that drew national attention. Then she said something that struck me as telling, even though she knew nothing of the incident until I raised it with her. My Alabama associate said that she thought the pontoon boat owners were not acting based on race, and that they were most likely from out of town. This response struck me as denial/defensiveness from the Okun framework, and #13 from the Obear framework, focus on their (whites’) “good intent” as whites, rather than on the negative impact of their behavior. Another thought that occurred to me from my associate’s comments of denial, is that even if these bad actors were from out of town, that would mean that they believed that their behavior was perfectly acceptable in Alabama. We now know that the pontoon boat passengers were locals.

As Americans, we will never heal from systemic and individual racism with denial. It is important for folks to acknowledge the truth of these interactions, call them what they are, and do the work to address the overlying and underlying issues of bias and racism. An update to this story by WSFA 12 in Montgomery Alabama which can be viewed here, indicated that police did not believe race to be a factor in this incident so defendants will not be charged with a hate crime. I find this decision laughable and question the motive, though I understand that eliminating the racial component of the incident is an attempt to mitigate the matter as suggested in the above-mentioned frameworks.

America needs a healing reckoning from its roots in racism, oppression, and marginalization of Black and Brown people. Healing from systemic and individual racism and bias requires honesty, self-reflection, and hard work. It requires education and conversation in a safe space and healing space. If you are interested in conversations about bias, equity, and inclusion in a safe and educational space, please contact me at DistinctiveVoiceConsulting@gmail.com or visit my website www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com for training opportunities.

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My Thoughts on a couple of the recent United States Supreme Court decisions

By Kimberly Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

August 2023

In two Supreme Court decisions in late June 2023, I find myself mourning the loss of advancement opportunities for BIPOC and low-income people. Specifically, concerning the conservative majority’s votes in the cases of: Students for Fair Admissions versus President and Fellows of Harvard College, Students for Fair Admission versus University of North Carolina, Biden versus Nebraska, and the Department of Education versus Brown. The decision to eliminate programs that allow for race-based admissions in colleges and the rejection of Biden’s student loan forgiveness program are two decisions that I fear take America backwards and decrease opportunities to create equity by leveling the playing field.

For review, the Students for Fair Admissions versus President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Students for Fair Admission versus University of North Carolina are cases that involve considering race in college admissions. Race based college admissions were programs that stemmed from affirmative action programs, which were created to offset past racial wrong doings against black and brown people. The programs utilized race as a consideration in admissions to mitigate the effects of systemic racism. Race based consideration in admissions expanded admissions criteria to look at a student’s background to include mitigating circumstances. Such mitigating circumstances may have included financial barriers, family struggles, and primary and secondary attending schools with low budgets that may have affected their college admissions test scores and grade point averages. The idea was to recruit, educate and graduate minority students with the propensity to excel in college despite their challenging circumstances: students who, otherwise would not have been considered for top tier colleges based on grades and admissions test scores.

Why am I passionate about this issue? Because I was one of these students. I was raised with mitigating circumstances yet had the academic ability to excel in school. Despite lower than desired standardized test scores on the SAT, I was able to graduate with honors from two of the top schools in the country.

Most college admissions requirements stem from the original purpose of college which was to educate Christian white men. Fast-forward to today and college has become a dream of the masses where people know that advanced education is the ticket to better employment opportunities and increased income earning potential. Standardized tests were multiple choice mental tests created to categorize, sort, and route the population. But whose mind created the test to sort people? Who created the criteria for the evaluation of who scored well and who did not? Those whose thinking matches the logic and reasoning of the test creator, do well, while those who have a diversity of thought or experience from the mind of the test creator, do not. It is no secret that standardized college admissions exams have been labeled bias and that some schools have relaxed the requirement on these exams.

Allowing colleges to look at the whole student for college admissions is a more just way of evaluating a student’s ability in college and creates increased diversity. Diversity in college and in schools have been proven to improve the education of the students. As such, education administrators now understand the importance of diversity in schools and will find other means to define diversity for the sake of better academic outcomes for all. People who think that banning race in admissions will give them a greater chance for admissions over someone who comes from lower educational pedigree will be greatly disappointed. The myth of meritocracy is just that, a myth. The students with the highest-grade point averages and the highest standardized test scores may not be the best student for a particular college. We need to continue to look at the whole student, their background and challenges they overcame to create a well-rounded student body in higher education. Was this decision by the Supreme Court in line with the American public? According to recent news polls, most white and Asian people agree with the decision while Latinos are split and most African-American people disagree with the decision. It appears that public opinion is self-serving here with those who believe they will benefit from the decision supporting it while those who think they will be disadvantaged by the decision not supporting the Supreme Court’s decision. But when making these decisions we need to think of the greater good and creating the best learning environment for students which diversity has been proven to do.

To recap Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown, these cases involve student loan debt relief for millions of Americans who borrowed money to attend college and improve their lives. From an equity, diversity, and inclusion standpoint, I find this decision disheartening. In my humble opinion, undergraduate education, like the K-12 education, should be free to those who show the propensity to graduate. Professional schools should be subsidized and society should encourage the education of its citizenry because it is better for people to have the ability to financially support themselves and in turn the ability to pay taxes to support our economy and government.

A poor, uneducated society does not serve the society well. Look at third world countries, as an example. Our government should be able to support individual society needs in a similar fashion to how we support big business. There are theories abound about how trickle-down economics do not work and greatly contribute to income inequality, making the rich richer and the poor poorer, while the middle class gets erased. Because of America’s love affair with individual responsibility versus community collaboration, only two in five people support Biden’s debt forgiveness program of up to $20K for individuals earning less than $125k per year and couples earning less than $250k per year. Student loan debt is a tax on the middle class that punishes middle and low-income people for not having the family wealth necessary to go to college without student loans. It is a vicious cycle where the rich have the financial capital to earn an education to continue their wealth journey while the have-nots borrow money for college which saddles them with debt upon completing college (if they do finish) and hinders their financial growth. 

I believe in a hybrid approach to society. There should be individual responsibility with a twist. We must have a system to broaden the circle of opportunity to for those who were not born to wealthy families. We must create opportunity for those capable in society. As we do so, we explore greater growth for our community and society. Who knows what gifts and talents that child born into poverty can offer our society: a cure for cancer, the solution to climate change, or perhaps being a game changer or community builder who writes blogs to give people different perspectives to make the world a better place?

If you are interested in training and more conversations about equity and inclusion, please contact me at DistinctiveVoiceConsulting@gmail.com or visit my website www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com

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Forgive the interest!

By Kim Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

July 2023

 

  

The Supreme Court’s decision, among others this week, to strike down Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan saddens me. But as I pan out on this issue, I should have seen this decision coming. A plan has been in place for many years to build this conservative court to rule accordingly. As I reflect on this week’s decisions, I have become clear on America’s priorities: capitalism and democracy. If you are a democratic country being attacked by a communistic country, the American financial flood gates are wide open. If you are an American big business and your highly paid executives ruin your business with poor decisions that threaten the livelihoods of the middle-class worker tax base, be ready for America to “make it rain” for you. But if you are a hard-working middle-class citizen, get ready to get sandwiched in: by your debt and by your taxes. In my view, we the middle class, are the backbone of America. America spends, we pay. If we middle-class folks have a need, we have to take out a loan. The calvary isn’t coming for us. The wealthy have tax shelters and the poor, well they have nothing to give, so that leaves us hard-working middle-class folks to support the government. Heck, even a former U.S. president stated that he is smart because he doesn’t pay taxes which implies that we, the hard working middle-class, aren’t smart for supporting our country with our tax dollars.

 

There are a myriad of reasons why people carry student loan debt. I wrote about my reasons for taking out student loans last fall and I will repost for you below. In this report update I’d like to say that I am hopeful that America will be more equitable in the distribution of its financial resources. Rich people don’t need to borrow money to send their kids to college and poor people can rely on federal financial aid. Everyone in between is left with loan options that are impossible to pay back due to interest. If our nation’s leaders will not waive student debt principal, at least forgive the interest!

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Student Loan Forgiveness from an Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Lens

Fall 2022

 By Kimberly Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting

www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com

 

After my divorce I found myself in the position where I was a stay-at-home mother with three kids to raise. At the time of my divorce, I had been out of the work force for seven years and my skills were outdated. So, I decided to return to college to earn a Master’s degree in education. I worked part-time and went to school part-time while raising two school aged boys and a high school daughter. I did this with little financial support which made things really tight. So, to give myself breathing room, I decided to take out student loans to make ends meet. I figured once I graduated, I could get a full-time job and pay back those loans. I took out those loans twelve years ago and due to interest, job lay-offs, and various other setbacks, I am still paying those loans off today. For me, the $10,000 in student loan forgiveness is a blessing because that amount basically covers the interest on my loans over the years. Having this forgiveness waive my interest seems fair to me because I will pay back what I borrowed. The tax payers will not be paying for my circumstances.

 

I share my story to enlighten folks on the diversity of reasons for student loan debt. I don’t know many folks who borrow money when they don’t need it so in my view, there is a story of need behind every student loan. When I look at the polarization on this issue, I see a political divide between those who support student loan forgiveness and those who don’t: Democrat versus Republican. This year, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), alongside Reps. Greg Murphy (R-NC) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD), introduced the “Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act of 2022” bill. Among other things the bill would prohibit the president from cancelling outstanding federal student loan payments due to a national emergency and forgive $10-$20K in student loan debt for Americans making less than $125K per year. I see two issues here: waiving interest on loan payments during a national emergency and forgiving $10-$20K of debt outright. This bill addresses both of these matters and claims that the forgiveness of interest and payments during a national emergency disproportionately benefits higher income earning borrowers. This may be true for people who earn more than $125,000 per year and can afford to pay their student loans, but the second matter of the $10-$20K loan forgiveness for people earning less than $125,000 per year does not disproportionately benefit high income earners, but the contrary. It allows for a break and financial support for middle class and lower income families, and mostly people of color who are struggling to repay their student loans.

 

Across the board, statistics show that:

 

·       More than 1 in 5 U.S. families hold student loan debt (totaling $1.6 trillion dollars)

·       Black families borrow student loans at higher rates than other races- and own more debt

·       Many families where the student loan borrower didn’t finish college, still hold substantial amounts of student loan debt

·       The least wealthy Americans are most likely to own student loan debt- and owe more of it

 

What this tells me is that those who oppose student loan debt forgiveness are waging a war against Black and poor people in America. Biden’s student loan bail-out plan is estimated to cost between $469-$519 billion dollars. It is quite an expensive plan, but what will be the gain to the economy from these Americans with this new financial freedom? Proponents of student loan forgiveness are trying to kick start debtors’ lives by relieving some of the burden of student loan debt. Many borrowers have put off starting families and buying homes, activities that are the bedrock of feeding the U.S. economy.

 

Opponents of student loan forgiveness assert that such a bail out would trigger inflation. The jury is still out on this as economists are divided on whether or not student loan forgiveness based on Biden’s plan would trigger inflation. And on the matter of inflation, where were these fiscal stewards and their concerns of inflation when the U.S. government funded the war in Iraq to the tune of $1.922 trillion dollars? A war over weapons of mass destruction that were later determined to not have existed. Where were these stewards when the taxpayers bailed out the banking industry in 2008-2009 with the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to the tune of $498 billion dollars? Tax payers bailed out the banks then the banks turned around and foreclosed on many of these same taxpayers’ homes and 4,500 of these folks in the banking industry gave themselves million-dollar bonuses.

 

It is quite obvious to me that certain Americans favor supporting business over people. But I believe we need to support both, fairly. Helping business does benefit society because businesses employ people. Similarly, helping people benefits society because people are consumers that spend to drive our economy. If people don’t have jobs, they cannot spend. If people are in debt, they forego major purchases and spend less. Both help our economy and are important. Supporting student loan forgiveness benefits our society by helping relieve the burden of all borrowers, but particularly people of color who borrow in greater numbers. People of color who are aspiring to obtain an education to increase their skills so that they can have a higher income, a better way of life and be greater contributors to our tax base. I see great equity in helping people educate themselves when they are not born with silver spoons in their mouths and come from families that could not help them pay for college. Each borrower has a story. Whether it is an immigrant that has come to America for a better life, or a divorced parent who is trying to kick start their career, education is a good thing and that is why I believe that student loan debt cancelation for lower income families in an equitable initiative.

 

If you are interested in training and more conversations about equity and inclusion, please contact me at DistinctiveVoiceConsulting@gmail.com or visit my website www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com

 

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American Culture: A Melting Pot or Aggregated Independent Cultures?

MAY 2023

by Kim Harris, M.Ed.

Distinctive Voice Consulting 

 

America is polarized. I strongly believe dialogue is key to healing divide and polarization. One source of division in America is race. Race is social construct that was created in the United States to control wealth. European Americans, as the dominant culture in the United States wanted to keep wealth, power, and control so they created race to divide African-Americans and poor whites from unifying against wealthy whites during the 17^th Century (research Bacon’s Rebellion for more information.)

One downside of the construct of race, among many, is its ability to disassociate people from their ancestry. I see examples of this disassociation in my workshops where I find that some of my European American participants express that they feel no sense of culture as Americans and that they do not have a sense of identity outside of their whiteness. These confessions sadden me because I think about where their ancestors came from and possibly what their ancestors fled from to come to America for a better life. After all, with the exception of Native Americans, all Americans are immigrants from different parts of the globe with customs and traditions associated with those countries of origin. Perhaps unlike myself, everyone does not feel a connection to the culture of their ancestors.

Then I had a cultural appropriation epiphany about this notion that some of my European American workshop participants feel no sense of culture outside of their whiteness: could the lack of connection to ancestry of origin be why some European Americans do not feel like they are appropriating the culture of another? Additionally, could America, the giant melting pot, be a contributing factor to this? Since America is a melting pot, could some feel everything they see from different cultures here belongs to everyone? After all, if one feels no sense of individual culture, but sees a mix of culture from people of diverse ancestry around them, what is the problem with appropriating dress or music for example, from a fellow American?

 

This conversation spurned my inquisitive mind and birthed the idea for my next workshop, which aims to help people grow and give them the language to hold these types of conversations. In order to unpack this topic, we first need to define what culture is, what race is, and what ethnicity is to establish common understanding. Then we can progress to discuss what culture means to each individual based on their ancestry and family traditions. It is my hope that individuals leave this workshop with a greater understanding of themselves, their community, and America as a whole.

 

With so much division and polarization in our country, it is my desire that this discussion will be a unifying one, helping participants have greater respect for themselves, their neighbor and ultimately create a sense of unity and belonging.

I hope that you can join me for this conversation. To register, click here.

For more information on equity, diversity and inclusion training and consulting visit: www.DistinctiveVoiceConsulting.com