Emerging conversations revolving around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), particularly following global outcry and condemnation of incidents of racism have placed emphasis on the need to take proactive measures rather than being reactive to issues bothering on inclusion. This is particularly as it relates to people of color and historically marginalized racial groups.
This article is coming on the heels of reports of an alleged racist event that took place on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Sanford FL; the same town where Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman.
The incident involved two white men; Howard Hughes and Donald Corsi, attacking a black teenage boy who was visiting a friend in their neighborhood. The attack is seen to be based on racial profiling. The duo is currently facing criminal charges of damaging property and battery. Videos of the incident showed the men verbally threatening the teen, saying that they did not like how he was driving on their street and that he did not belong there. This was before they threw a large rock with sharp edges through a rear window in the car the teen was driving in. One of the men also hit the teen with a large cone. They also used the cone to smash the rear door of the teen’s car, damaging it by leaving a big dent beneath the window.
This article seeks to examine the relevance of inclusion as a foremost tool in tackling issues of racism such as the one described above. It also highlights the need for individuals and corporate bodies to take proactive measures towards the prevention of racist incidents and bringing offenders to book as against reactionary commentaries on such incidents.
Inclusion refers to strategically creating a culture or atmosphere that allows everyone in a group or work environment to feel welcome to participate and contribute, regardless of their differences in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, life experience, etc. an inclusive environment is one that respects, appreciate, and support every member of the group or community.
A major hallmark and benefit of an inclusive community is the active efforts towards the removal of all indexes of barriers, bias, intolerance, discrimination, and racist incidents arising from the mentioned indices. DEI initiatives are not meant to be used as a band-aid solution to social issues such as racism. Reactionary measures will not give the desired where they are only put in place or used whenever there is a need to address issues arising from racism, such as the recent racist incident reported earlier in this article. Responding to an inclusion issue, such as the said incident after it has happened is likely to create a new problem and generate more stressors for the community or business organization, especially where it is mishandled.
On the other hand, proactive inclusionary measures by individuals and corporate bodies will allow for gathering relevant resources, training employees, and giving necessary statements to show the DEI posturing of the community or company. All of these proactive measures are more likely to help in preventing racist incidents from happening in the first instance.
If you are looking to create a strategic policy to promote inclusion in your workplace, interested in developing policies relevant to your company’s DEI efforts, or are you interested in organizing an inclusion program training for members of your community, then Thinkzilla’s DEI consulting team in Scottsdale, Atlanta, and Houston will design and implement internal training programs that are suited to your DEI plans.
Click here to learn more about Thinkzilla’s DEI consulting, workforce diversity recruiting, and development programs in Scottsdale and across the US.
