The trap in a stereotype
There is fear on all sides. Stereotypes exist because unfortunately there are enough examples to continue their propagation from all angles.
You have to reach out to all of your teams and have open and honest discussions about bias, even unconscious bias, and about the fact that privilege is not just a conscious choice or based on who you are but also influenced by the stereotypes that could be associated with you. This is part of what creates the disparity around individual engagement. It is important to remind your team that allowing a stereotype to propagate you interactions will always lead to an unfair situation!
The only way to truly generate change is to continue to raise the awareness and support for equality. Bad people exist no matter what the skin color, but those people should not be allowed to define the groups on either side. You have to constantly fight against generic grouping and continuously speak and act towards individual accountability and systemic improvements to prevent failures whether in training or regulations.
I experienced racism as a child and gender bias as an adult. But I have also experienced people who have risen above those base judgements and I align and define myself to be more like them in every opportunity. I continue to learn and grow and improve my awareness. I am slow to judge because I want to assess all the facts available , use critical thinking, and then engage when I can come from that neutral place.
I want to understand the root causes so I can fix things I see broken when it is in my power to do so. I too fear for the future of our society if we continue to segregate and accuse. Both sides have poor approaches and the only way I see to resolve it is to keep open and honest dialogue.
Differences exist, they should be valued to allow us all to broaden our thoughts and perspectives! This is not a black issue or a non-black issue, or a male or female issue, it is a humanity issue and we all play a role in making things better! We are all responsible for defending what is right and ethical! No matter our individual nature, if we operate from a place of power or privilege then it is indeed also our responsibility to take the lead. We should band together and find ways to combat negative stereotypes! Those who violate the principles of equality and fair treatment should be held accountable as individuals!
We are an imperfect society as are all societies, but, at our core, America tries to stand for something more and better....and that is the message we should send. Vote and petition, and use all legal means available to address the issues where you can! Individually we can’t fix everything but together we can make great strides if we choose to! I remain always optimistic about our ability to grow and change as I meet many wonderful people in the world. To affect the changes we desire and break down the negative stereotypes that the media (and certain leadership) feeds off we must band together and demand it.
As Mahatma Ghandhi so eloquently stated, we must "be the change we want to see in this world."
