Stand-up people in a sit-down world
Gov. DeSantis is disgustingly racist and he is unapologetic about it. Tara Jaye Frank goes beyond the rage so many of us feel and shares where we need to focus our attention. Let’s all be stand-up people in a sit-down world.✊🏽
“Many are raging and reeling over Florida’s bill banning DEI initiatives in public colleges. Rightfully.
My thoughts…
1. REMEMBER: This is intentional. The more uncomfortable the Governor makes certain people, the more likely it is that they leave Florida, clearing the path for him to legalize discrimination and, more importantly, maintain power. (And…signing a bill to teach AAPI history in the same week was just an F-U to Black people. Intent matters.)
2. RECLAIM: It is our duty to reclaim the spirit of DEI by exchanging our shorthand for definitions that are harder to co-opt or dispute.
Example: DEI = Enabling progress and performance by
1. Representing/leveraging varying viewpoints to fuel relevance, growth, and better decision-making,
2. Ensuring all people have an equal opportunity to learn, contribute, and add value while being valued, and
3. Creating cultures of safety and connection to unlock creativity and enhance the employee experience for all.
See? What’s not to love?
3. REALIZE: This wave only overtakes us if we sit back, shake our heads, and bemoan—if we watch our neighbors and friends be mistreated or erased and believe it will not affect us. We are interconnected. Don’t ever doubt that the harm over there will someday become the harm at your door.
Today, a woman in a leadership program I’m facilitating said she teaches her children to be stand-up people in a sit-down world.
I’ve not heard it said much better.
Some are waging outright war on the world many of us have been working so hard to create. We can’t afford to lose.
Ultimately, I believe we will prevail.
But only if we stand up. 🙏🏽”
Read more about it:
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/15/1176210007/florida-ron-desantis-dei-ban-diversity
#equitydiversityinclusion #dei #standup
