Council Meeting

Held Thursday, April 28, 2011

Host: Delia Johnson

INTRODUCTION

Jorge E. Ponce, Council Co-Chair, thanked Ms. Delia L. Johnson, Council Co-Chair, and Director, Office of Civil Rights for the International Broadcasting Bureau, for hosting the meeting.

Mr. Ponce proceeded to introduce the keynote speaker, Lee Mun Wah, founder of StirFry Seminars & Consulting, Inc. His presentation was entitled “the future of diversity.” He has produced multiple films on diversity issues, among which are “The Color of Fear,” “Last Chance of Eden,” and “Stolen Ground.” The Color of Fear deals with eight men of various ethnicities who engage in a dialogue about race and the effects of racism on their lives and families. Last Chance of Eden has nine women address racism. Stolen Ground has six Asian men who dispel the myth of the “model minority.” Lee Mun Wah has done diversity work for the last twenty-five years.

DIVERSITY PRESENTATION

Lee Mun Wah shared that the future of diversity requires all of us to engage each other, not just in a celebratory way, but in a meaningful and authentic dialogue that moves the heart, creates a sense of community, and moves us towards change. He stated that we as a country have had a “don't tell, don't ask” policy for over 500 years, and that is why we still know so little about each other. What we have today in our diversity discourse is either being defensive, adversarial, or detached. What will be needed is to learn how to ask questions, reflect on how we are not only the solution, but also how we are part of the problem. Curiosity is the gateway to empathy.

Lee Mun Wah shared how the Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Sergeant James Crowley incident was an excellent example of what is still needed in our diversity knowledge and training. When Professor Gates heard Sgt. Crowley ask him to come out with his hands up and everything would be all right, everything was not all right. What he did not comprehend was that to Professor Gates and many in the African American community, coming out with your hands up meant danger, not safety. Why? Because so many African Americans have come out unarmed and been shot or killed by law enforcement officials in the past. On the other hand, when Professor Gates began to raise his voice that meant danger to Sgt. Crawley because in his world as a European American, everything tells him (the media, books, and friends) that a raised voice by an African American man means danger. For both men, a “red flag” from the past was re-enacted that reminded them both of a potentially dangerous situation. It was the perfect storm, and one that could have been avoided if the social context was better understood and voiced. As Virginia Satir, a famous family therapist, said “... when we aren't really understanding each other, we hallucinate each other, and then we behave as though our hallucinations are fact. That's how we do it.”

Lee Mun Wah also showed our group the importance of “mindfully” observing each other and noticing the importance of intent and impact, as each of these skills enables us to better understand each other. He broke us up into dyads and asked a series of very personal and transformative questions: When people look at you, what do they see? What don't they see? What do you wish they'd see? A Council member shared how insulted he felt when someone complimented him on how good his English was, even though he was born in the United States. To many folks in the room, this was not an isolated experience. Lee Mun Wah shared that Virginia Satir once said, "What we don't understand, we make up."

Lee Mun Wah discussed next the cultural disconnect that exists among the various EEO groups simply because they don’t talk to each other. He explained how the lack of direct eye-contact by Asian employees is interpreted by non-Asian selecting officials to mean lack of honesty – when, in reality, Asians look at it as a sign of respect. Similarly, when Asian applicants discuss the accomplishments of the group and not their own accomplishments, non-Asian individuals interpret these responses to mean that Asians are seeking shelter in the group because they lack accomplishments of their own. The end result of these practices is that the Asian employees are not hired or promoted.

Lee Mun Wah shared how we can ask questions such as: a.) What I heard you say was… b.) Tell me more… c.) What angered you about what happened? e.) What hurt you about what happened? f.) What's familiar about what happened? g.) What hurt you about what happened? He gave an example of a Superintendent of Schools assuming that an African American student wearing a huge gold chain around his neck, baggy pants and having rings and tattoos obviously had no respect for either himself or education. He shared that if she were curious about why African American youngsters and men choose to wear this particular style, she should have asked one of them. Of which he pointed out that a young African American man who was in the same room shared what each item of clothing meant to him personally, and none of his reasons had anything to do with disrespect. She was deeply moved by what he shared and realized that her assumptions were totally based on what she had heard second hand, and not on personal experience by asking questions.

Lee Mun Wah switched his discussion to women. When women join the boardroom, most never get a chance to discuss their differences. He asked how do these women dress to work? He responded that they dress like the men do. They read books about men in managerial positions and their various management styles, but few men have read books about women at these levels.

Lee Mun Wah opined that the best supervisors are those who can pull out from their employees what’s really bothering them by looking at their body language, in addition to what they are saying. To get their employees to open and to feel valued, he asked how many supervisors allowed their employees to share their ideas and opinions at regular meetings.

Lee Mun Wah also gave out a sheet entitled, "21 Ways to Stop a Diversity Conversation". On the sheet were statements such as: I was just joking. We'd hire more people of color and women, but are they qualified? We're all the same. I'm glad you're not one of them. I don't see color. Some of my best friends are colored.

Lee Mun Wah stated that we each must work towards equity. He shared that he had a first aid diversity kit that had the cure for racism. In it was a mirror. He said, "When we are willing to look at ourselves and those around us, then we can begin unlearning the racism that is in all of us. And when we get to know each other and develop an authentic relationship that is based on trust and curiosity, we will have learned that the first steps to a better world, begins with us.

Lee Mun Wah stated that a sign that we have mastered the diversity challenge is when supervisors can ask their employees how they can turn their differences into positive contributions for their agencies. Co-Chair Johnson indicated that diversity is about building relationships, about finding out what you don’t see in others.

To find more information about StirFry Seminars and Consulting, click on http://www.stirfryseminars.com, or call them at 510 204-8840. To subscribe to its newsletter, click on http://www.stirfryseminars.com/pages/mailing_list.php.