January 18th, 2007
More Diversity
I met an interesting lady on line recently. I visited her blog and found a post on diversity. Robyn Mcmaster is the Sr. VP of MITA Brain Based Center. The post,”It takes Art to Create Diversity that Works,” is generating some good conversations. I commented myself and was intrigued by the topic and agreed with the content. The see the topic of diversity posted by a white female and discussed with candor and passion was compelling to me. Have a visit. In a recent post, I linked to a story about a shortage of skilled workers in the US. The potential for discrimination and affirmative action to be things of the past are here. Companies will be forced to focused on, the best person for the job. As Dr. King would add, the content of their character not the color of their skin. As a black worker, that is all we want anyway. Keep Hope Alive. Now, we must be sure to have the necessary skills to find opportunity. As the work force becomes more and more blended with all races and genders,marital status and sexual orientation, Ms Mcmaster’s post takes on added significances.
http://brainbasedbiz.blogspot.com/2007/01/it-takes-art-to-create-diversity-that.html
January 18th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Jim, diversity is something that has been on my heart since I was a child. I was born in Australia and experienced what it was in those days to see only white people. By on the long boat journey to the U.S. we stopped in Fiji. People with dark skin padded to our boat in dugout canoes. And when we got to shore I was intrigued by the women in beautful sarongs. I was really curious and wondered what these people were like. And then later when traveling from San Franciso to the East Coast, we had an African-American porter who somehow took a liking to me. And at the end of the trip he bought me a teddy bear and gave it to me. Today, I know that cost him a lot, but it helped me as a child to begin to respect folks different than myself. It hinges on respect. And I sense it is something that begins with small acts of kindness and hospitality to others. So all my life this has grown inside. Jim, I am very honored to be mentioned here on your blog.
January 18th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Hi Jim,
Your post touched me. And then I read the story in the comment from Robyn. I read both your blogs and feel honored to know both of you.
Diversity has always been part of my life. I was adopted, as were my sister and brother. We all have a different bckground and look very different. Today my extended family comes from many corners of the world. What matters is what is in our hearts, not what we look like on the outside. Looking forward to reading more.
Sandy
January 19th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Jim and Robyn - this post rocks! What a loss to all of us when we stop short of drawing from amazing array of talents and insights embedded in diverse human brains!
The key is to generate a discussion on a key problem - with diverse people - and within minutes you see why we NEED diversity. Perhaps more challenging - are the tactics to bring it about in winning results…. as King taught us so well….
Thanks for the reminder of all that we have when we draws from a deeper well — and for examples on both these sites! You inspire the rest of us!
January 19th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
All three of your comments are inspiring. My Dad was an underground miner and in his mine the workers were either white or black but mostly white. Recently, a friend, who’s father was also a miner sent me a photo of our fathers and other miners. The men were in their work clothes, dusty and tired ,they had just finished their shift. My father was a young man and this picture was from the early 40’s. What amazed me was in the corner of the photo, a black miner and a white miner, had their arms around each other in a happy embrace. These men were as tough as nails and faced death every day at work, but were still brothers, one black, one white, at a time when the country was terribley divided along racial lines. It was a matter of life and death for these guys to depend on each other and trust each other.Underground race was not a factor. A lesson for us all.