Diversity?

Years ago I was a member of the "Diversity" team at my job. I participated in the group for about two years and eventually left after I realized that they really didn't believe in diversity. The goal of the team, as I understood it, was to bring about an understanding of minorites by implementing programs, events etc. With this goal in mind, we set out to plan and execute programs that we thought were going to get people talking and ultimately change the "culture" of the institution. We brought in speakers, teachers brought their classes and our diversity officer was happy and the administration was happy. At the time, I believed that our students were engaging in important discussions on issues relevant to all people and through these discussions we could come to an understanding about one another without playing the race card, the gay card or any other card. It was about, from where I sat, adding to what they were already learning in the classroom. I was wrong.

While I argued for including some of our more tangible objectives, i.e. writings from a more varied group of writers, in the overall curriculum my team members were bent on organizing programs which ended up blaming whitey. The programs ended up as sermons and gave little in the way of give and take "discussions". They soon became monthly and yearly back slapping, resume building look at us diversity festivals. Everyone in the group was of the same ilk and everyone agreed that progress was a myth and gays needed a safe zone and blacks needed more people to feel their pain. I had left the team before attending a safe zone training.

My reason for leaving was simple, I had not bought into the myth that me and my kind hadn't made progress. I left because I questioned what whites were getting out of feeling sorry for our poor black students. I left because these programs weren't helping our students feel part of the conversation but rather they were being put upon to hold their opinions if they differed from the panel participants. I left because I felt guilty when a colleague said she felt intimidated when she attended a "diversity" class. She was afraid to ask a question for fear that she would come across as ignorant or worse yet, racist. I left because ulitmatley this is the goal of diversity programs - to make whites feel guilty and everyone with a different opinion shut up.

Unfortunately, there are many such groups in many schools throughout the US. And while I fully agree with "talking" about tough issues, diversity groups, diversity officers, multicultural groups do not accomplish this important task. And why don't they? Because these groups do not suffer "diversity" well. Ask any diversity director when was the last time they invited a Conservative to speak at their school and you will get a "what are you crazy" look. Ask when or if at their next panel discussion on gays if there was someone arguing against having half naked men gyrating on cars and trucks be eliminated from the annual pride parade. Ask them if we must celebrate Dr. King's birthday each year over fried chicken and waffles why we can't have a "student of color" speak at the podium who can actually make a speech without using black english. We should ask this and more of our diversity officers. Here is a similar take on the diversity gig.