Monday, December 6, 2010

Mr. Disney isn't racist, really we swear.....

I work hard not because I want to, but because I know it's the right thing to do. I know that my parents, who spent over 80 years in the field of education (My father a history teacher, my mother special education). I know that if I don't work my ass off, I would let down my co-workers, my employees and my friends. Running a nonprofit organization, being an Assistant Director for the Telephone Outreach Project (TOP) does not allow time to slack off. But I also work hard because I know that people still think Black people are lazy. I mean, Obama's president and he works hard, but in the back of our minds aren't we still thinking "Great, another Black guy asking for (spare) change?".

But really, the fact of the matter is this: It is 2010, nearly 2011. Race is still an issue. Whether we like it or not. Last week, I was eating Pecan Pie (wow, it was tasty)and my boss's boss said we needed to get cotton balls for a project we were doing. "I'll pick the cotton!" I said. It wasn't that funny. It was moderately funny, but I was hoping for a few laughs. "Wow, I just felt really uncomfortable," he said. The fact that my boss, who is a twenty-something year-old Caucasian man from the east coast felt uncomfortable (and probably 30% of the people in the US would be too) is an important talking point. My joke was not that funny. But the fact of the matter is, we as a country are still hesitant to talk about it. It's a big, white elephant in the room.
In my opinion, sometimes humor is the best way to go. When I say, I need to pick cotton, it's not because I think Black people should be picking cotton, it's because let's acknowledge the fact that we don't all look the same (unless we live in Maine, oh snap) and we aren't all from the same place. Let's be honest here, diversity isn't just a black and white thing. It's race, gender, age, disabilities, religion, job title, physical appearance, sexual orientation, nationality, multiculturism, competency, training, experience,and so on. So then, the following day, when I mentioned to my other boss that we needed a more diverse workplace, it is not that I want to fill the building with black people. It's that I walk around the building I work in (where we have about a half dozen non profits) and I ask myself "why is the only Hispanic person in our office the man who takes out the garbage? Why is the only Asian person the one that comes into the office for two hours a week to open mail? Cannot we do better?
I know the argument. Hire people who have skills. So what if they happen to be all one race. Employees perhaps cast broad nets and what if it so happens that not a lot of diverse candidates are hired. But the problem is, we can do better. We can find both minorities who qualifications and experience. I don't believe that we should just hire people based on race. But I believe that we have to actively seek diversity. I want to walk down the hall and mistake my work place for the United Nations, not the backwoods of Maine. I want different religions, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, you name it. And I blame lack of workplace diversity on Mr. Walt Disney.
Time and time again, Mr. Disney has created lovely stories that appear innocent enough. Does anybody remember the 1941 Dumbo film with the black crows sitting on a live speaking in "jive talk"? They were pretty stupid, lazy and ignorant. Oh really? That's not racist? It isn't? Ok, then how come the lead crow was named "Jim"? Come on. My personal favorite was Uncle Remus, a happy, fun loving black man who happily lived on a Civil War plantation. He did whatever he was told (that's a nice thing). But he's very slow and cannot think for himself. I could go on and on with examples. But the fact is that Disney movies made people not want to talk about race. It becomes such a part of our society (racism that is) that we don't talk about it, we feel uncomfortable joking about it, and in the end are so afraid of it that we play it safe. By play it safe, I mean not want to, or not willing to hire more diverse people. I know. It's a stretch. I know. But,the fact of the matter is this: in 2011, we have a black president. But we only have 4 minority senators, only one state where both senators are women (Maine) and the heads of the organizations are still White Men. Just saying...