Dangerous Indifference: An Excerpt

“I can't breathe!”

Three words that significantly altered the political, social, and educational landscape of the collective consciousness of the United States of America and the world. Many have attributted this contemporary rekoning to the public murder of George Floyd at the hands of Officer Derek Chauvin while three other officers looked on in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For others, the mere desire to breathe freely in the literal and figurative sense is a struggle under the glare of persistent cultural destruction and a lack of cultural awareness. The constant struggle to elevate, and in some instances, to acknowledge the lived experiences of Black people in the United States was front and center -- for about two weeks. Overwhelmed by the feeling of being overwhelmed by human atrocities it was easy to simply forget and move on.?Yet, in order to stop the constant cycle of progress then regression, we have to create a world where more people understand their own cultural identities and the historical significance of their history. Equally, we aspire to help more people understand the cultural identity and cultural history of others more fully and more often. It is impossible to accomplish if you are sitting on the sidelines, oblivious, unaffected, or indifferent. That challenge is the inspiration for this book.

“Action is the only remedy to indifference: the most insidious danger of all.”

- Elie Wiesel

How many times do you meet someone who shares many of your life's experiences (upbringing, cultural norms, religion, etc.)? Now, contrast those encounters with the number of times you have interacted with someone whose lived experiences are vastly different from yours. Are the exchanges the same or different in the two scenarios? Did any of the encounters enhance your own experience? Did you feel valued? Were any of the encounters negative causing you to feel devalued? Religious beliefs can be the difference that runs deep enough to cause people to go to war. In more benign instances, our places of worship are filled with people who still struggle to be inclusive. This is prevalent even though most faith traditions espouse some version of “welcome, love, and accept” everyone.

Each day we enter the world, we are going to encounter other people. Some of those exchanges will leave many of us emotionally charged, intellectually challenged, or enraged. Why? Because there are always going to be people who don’t understand our personal cultural values or norms. When these situations occur, they are magnified when our experiences fall outside the boundaries of what is considered “normal.” Consequently, in ignorance, we step all over each other in ways that are not helpful. Well-meaning people at least try to put forth the effort to be open and courteous; however leaders have a greater responsibility. Leaders must move beyond the charitable acts of kindness and push to understand and leverage cultural differences so that those differences are assets to the team goals and not liabilities. We share examples in manufacturing, education, sales, healthcare, and nonprofit in order to gain your support for the idea that while humans are more alike than different, our differences represent our super powers. By the end of this book, our hope is that you will think that you have a responsibility to help create a more inclusive world. We believe that you will feel as though you will contribute as well as benefit from that world because your lived experiences are valuable. Finally, we believe that where you have advantage you will take risks to advocate for other people of other cultural groups.

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"Dangerous Indifference: The Case for Culturally Responsive Leadership" by Dr. Nicole D. Price and Dr. Ian A. Roberts releases December of 2021. To pre-order the book visit: www.livelyparadox.com/shop.

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About the Authors

Dr. Nicole D. Price, renowned leadership trainer and executive coach will be the first to admit that her culturally responsive journey began at age 10 but did not truly manifest itself until the age of 40. Prior to founding the leadership development company, Lively Paradox, Dr. Price worked in business and industry as a chemical engineer, technical leader, leadership consultant, and executive.

Dr. Ian A. Roberts has lived a fairly nomadic leadership journey which led to him serving schools and school districts in every geographic region of the United States. Prior to becoming an educational leader, he traveled the world as a world-class runner. He competed in track and field at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, and World Championships in Maebashi, Japan, and Seville, Spain.