Happy New Year from Diamond Strategies! The Diamond Standard

Happy New Year!

 "2021 is just a cultural construct. The world will improve not on an arbitrary day, but when [we] all decide to make it a better place." - Robert E. Wright

"2020 Taught Us How to Fix This"

"This is the year that broke the truth. This is the year when millions of Americans — and not just your political opponents — seemed impervious to evidence, willing to believe the most outlandish things if it suited their biases, and eager to develop fervid animosities based on crude stereotypes. Worse, this was the year that called into question the very processes by which our society supposedly makes progress. So many of our hopes are based on the idea that the key to change is education. We can teach each other to be more informed and make better decisions. We can study social injustices and change our behavior to fight them. But this was the year that showed that our models for how we change minds or change behavior are deeply flawed. It turns out that if you tell someone their facts are wrong, you don’t usually win them over; you just entrench false belief. One of the most studied examples of this flawed model is racial diversity training. Over the last few decades, most large corporations and other institutions have begun racial diversity programs to combat the bias and racism pervasive in organizational life. The courses teach people about bias, they combat stereotypes and they encourage people to assume the perspectives of others in disadvantaged groups."  Read More...

Register Today!

Next up in the More than A Month Black History Series: Emancipation and Reconstruction

An Online Zoom Masterclass. Bi-Weekly from January 7, 2020 Time: 5:30PM – 7:00PM PST View this in your browser

Led by award-winning historian, diversity, equity, inclusion leader, and motivational speaker, Matthew C. Whitaker, Ph.D.

"All History is a Current Event." ~ John Henrik Clarke Learn what you have always wanted to know in an intimate and positive space!

This interactive ten week webinar series will allow Black lives to speak, inspire, and instruct our way forward. Anyone interested in understanding the contemporary fight for racial justice, will not want to miss it. We will begin with pre-colonial Africa, and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, American slavery, emancipation, and reconstruction eras. We will then explore Jim Crow segregation, World War I, the Great Depression, the New Deal, Harlem Renaissance, and World II. We will conclude with the civil rights, hip hop, Barack Obama, and Black Lives Matter generations. Throughout the course, we will examine migration processes, Black organizations, leaders, and the roles faith, class, gender, and sexual orientation have played within Black communities, and the emergence of Black culture as a powerful force in global society. 

Dates and Themes 

11/19   Pre-Colonial Africa. 12/03  Atlantic Slave Trade 12/17  Chattel Slavery 12/30 Emancipation 01/14 Jim Crow and World I 01/28 The “New Deal” 02/11  Harlem Renaissance 02/25 World War II 03/11   Civil Rights Movement 03/25   hip hop, Barack Obama and Black Lives Matter

The History of Police and Policing in the U.S.

What is the history of policing in the U.S.? Where did police come from, and what was their role? How did police interact with communities in the past? How do police interact with communities now? Recent clashes between the police and the public have thrust the nation into a period of social unrest and violence not seen since the 1960s. The public has called for immediate and dramatic change. Do we still need the police? How do communities ensure public safety in the future for everyone? Participants in this FREE, virtual Arizona Humanities Frank Talk Program, will explore these questions in a safe, interactive discussion, that will help them understand and improve the relationship between the police and community. Clink here for Program Information and the Registration Link.  Virtual Event — For more information, please contact Missy Shackelford, Arizona Humanities, 602-257-0335, [email protected]. January 12, 2021, 6:00pm-7:00pm and January 13, 2021, 1:00pm-2:00pm.

Our Right To Assemble: The History of Protest and Civil Disobedience in the U.S.

The First Amendment prohibits the government from abridging “the right of the people peaceably to assemble.” This basic freedom ensures the right of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ideas. When and how have people engaged in protest? Who has engaged in protest? What is civil disobedience? Does everyone have the same right to assemble? In recent days the brutal murders of African Americans by the police has sparked widespread protest across the U.S. and even abroad. How do we balance public safety and human rights? How do race, power and class impact access to free speech and the right to assemble? Participants will explore these questions in a safe, interactive discussion. Virtual Event — For more information, please contact Missy Shackelford, Arizona Humanities, 602-257-0335, [email protected]. February 16, 2021, 2:30pm-3:30pm.

Diamond Strategies is a premier, NMSDC MBE certified diversity, equity, inclusion, community relations, employee learning and executive leadership training provider to Fortune 500 companies in the United States, Europe, Africa and China.  Our specialties include: Facilitation and Training, including industry Training-of-Trainers, (TOT), Interest-Based-Resolution (IBR), Transformative Speaking, Community Relations, and Thought Leadership. Our consultants are distinguished and globally experienced diversity and inclusion experts, offering services to schools, non-profits, corporations, faith-based organizations municipalities, and community groups. Our mission is to be your partner in a larger effort to maximize our human and institutional potential. Questions? Contact us here: Diamond Strategies or call us at 480-252-0639.  

Images: iStock; Matthew C. Whitaker, Elaine Kessler Photography; Michael Houtz, Getty Images, Getty, AP.