A Proposal to Address Racism in America - Take a Lesson From the Past

Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I have been thinking of writing an article on how prepared IT leaders were making the shift to a 100% work from home (WFH) model. Over the past three months, I had conversations with CIO's from a variety of industries on this topic, and each had a different story to tell. Some said they had no issues but were frustrated by not being able to support WFH employees and help troubleshoot connectivity issues. At the other end of the WFH spectrum, some explained their culture was against WFH, and they ended up asking employees to pick up their desktop computers, monitors, keyboard, and mouse and take them home. Regardless of what approach these IT leaders had taken, it all seemed to work. However, some companies and IT teams fared better than others, and their employees and customers appreciated the near-seamless transition during the pandemic lockdown.

My original plan was to discuss IT pandemic response; however, the recent murder of three black American citizens made me realize that improving a company's BCP plan pales in comparison to the need to improve my country. I was appalled to see a police officer kneel on the neck of George Floyd. This was made worse by seeing three other officers stand around for over 8 minutes and not recognize how wrong and life-threatening the situation had become. It made me sick. I told myself that if I had been present, I would have taken action to push the police officer away and save Mr. Floyd's life. I started thinking that I may not have been that courageous and would have just stood there watching this man die. As a former Marine officer taught to charge into danger, I had to admit that, perhaps, I was a bit of a coward. Therein lies the problem. As a nation, I believe we currently lack the intestinal fortitude, and courage, to tackle this problem. The response needs to be a coordinated effort between our government, corporate entities, and our citizens. To truly fix the more significant issue of racism requires a concerted effort to understand the root cause and fix this issue at the source. This requires a response at the national level and that no single group can go it alone. Government, corporate and individual citizen needs to own up to their past, and their role, in this national problem.

Corporations across this country have made powerful statements against systemic racism and how they are committed to supporting diversity in the workplace. At first, these attestations of commitment from corporate America felt right and timely. However, the sad part is, we have seen them before. After the events in Ferguson and New York City in 2014, Baltimore in 2015, and Milwaukee and Charlotte in 2016, corporate America restated their belief in a diverse, equal, and respectful work environment, but unfortunately, nothing has changed.

The problem is corporations are at the end of the process and are addressing an issue where they had little sway over the start and are recipients of a biased society and educational system. Many companies have diversity hiring programs, provide educational assistance, and contribute to communities across the country. Still, these efforts amount to a band-aid trying to cover a severe wound.

Let us look at our government. Our government is fractured, and there is no other way I can describe the current situation. Both major political parties claim to be the best party to fix this issue and are filled with career politicians interested in saving their job rather than fixing real problems. The Republican party tells us the United States is the land of opportunity, and minority communities need to" pull themselves up by the bootstraps" and return to traditional family values. Republicans tell us enough federal and state dollars are committed to low-income families and should be sufficient, but is squandered by corrupt inner-city officials. The Democrats tell us more needs to be done for public school systems, provide affordable college options, healthcare for all, and welfare for those struggling to lift up our fellow citizens and level the economic and societal playing field. In many ways, both political parties want the same thing, better-educated citizens, a more capable workforce, and a higher standard of living. The difference is in their approach.

While there have always been differences between Republicans and Democrats, past elected officials were able to find common ground and pass significant pieces of legislation. This spirit of putting country first is now second to "party" first. To make this situation worse, the traditional news and social media outlets are dominated by talking heads that reinforce the political division and inflame their listeners. None of which suffer any sort of repercussion when they spin information and report an event in a way that best suits their needs. Our nation is fractured by political purity tests, hyper-partisan news outlets, fake news, and social media control that make working across the aisle virtually impossible. Government leaders that try to find common ground are shamed by their own party, opposing media outlets, and the extreme element on both the right and left. 

I think we all need to agree the vast majority of Americans want to live peacefully. We all want a decent place to live, a job that supports our needs, and the ability to raise a family in peace and be treated fairly, and equally, by our judicial system. I also believe most of our political leaders want the same but are frozen and unable to act because of the hatred between the two dominant political groups. News outlets are focused on the most outrageous 10% at both ends of the political spectrum that hold the House and Senate hostage and prevent the legislative branch from addressing the real issues of this nation.

The challenge of racial and social injustice is challenging to solve. The first major piece of legislation after the American civil war was the 13th Amendment (1865, abolished slavery), 14th Amendment (1868, affirmed rights of freedmen and women), and followed in 1870 by the 15th Amendment (affirmed the right to vote). There have been several other laws passed, notably The Civil Rights Act of 1964, that further guaranteed equal rights. Nine other laws were passed following the Civil rights Act, extending the rights of minorities (history.house.gov). The last passed in 2006 and was mostly an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. So, it has been 14 years since any progress has been proposed. I have read statements from the past two presidents that essentially said, "now is the time to fix this issue." They might have well said, "this race tension didn't exist during my administration, don't know what you did wrong!". This problem has existed since the end of the US Civil War, with each President kicking the problem to his successor.  A few exceptions include Presidents Ulysses S. Grant (ardent believer in equal rights both during and after the war), Harry S. Truman (desegregation of the military), Lyndon B. Johnson (Civil Rights Act 1964/1965). However, even these men were stymied by resistance within their political parties and were unable to fully execute their plans for equality.

So, what can be done? As a leader, I tell my teams they are free to bring me their concerns and problems, but I also require them to deliver a solution. I do not expect them to be, but at least something to spark conversation and bring in others. Collaborative solutions are always better and more encompassing than from a single (often biased) perspective. With that in mind, I am writing to present a path forward, which is certainly an imperfect option, but something to be considered.

Before the COVID lockdown, I stumbled across the film "The Best of Enemies." I had no idea what it was about, but the lead actors were two of my favorites, so I decided to watch. Based on a novel written by Osha Gray Davidson, it chronicled the events of how the city of Durham, North Carolina, in 1971 tried to improve school conditions for all families, regardless of color. After watching the film, I decided to do some research on the history of the actual events. I had never heard of this story but was intrigued because one of the issues in the movie was school desegregation. My father was stationed at the Naval War College in Norfolk, VA, in 1975, and I vividly recall being bused to an inner-city school and having guards carrying shotguns and pistols because of protests. Because of my own experience, I was riveted to the TV, watching the events unfold. The focus in Durham was the establishment of a "charrette," which is defined as an intense period of planning to address a specific problem or issue, in this case, a charrette was established to solve the school challenges. Participants included a large group of local citizens representing both white and black American citizens as well as a voting panel consisting of 10 members equally representing both communities. The larger groups would establish topics that needed to be addressed, along with solutions, and these would be voted on by the ten-person panel. For a proposal to pass, it would need 7 of the 10 votes. A charrette is not an easy process, and by all accounts was very intense, given some of the racial issues of the time.

While establishing a national charrette on race in America sounds overly simplistic and perhaps impossible, few other options are presented. Politicians at all levels are proposing what I consider very tactical measures. Limits on police, defunding police, and demilitarization of police are some of the proposed changes, none of which address the root cause. And lasting change begins with understanding the underlying issue of this national problem.

Here is my proposal for the specific rules for a national charrette on race relations:

First, allow each major party to nominate five members for the charrette. Neither party gets to dispute the nominations from the other side of the aisle. These members should not be elected politicians. They can be regular citizens, community leaders, clergy, business leaders.

Second, this group of ten now jointly select an additional five members. For these individuals to be accepted, it would require 7 of the original 10 to agree. Adding five members ensures that neither political party can stonewall proposed solutions.

Third, identify a group of 535 citizens that represent a cross-section of this country. Why 535? There are 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 US Senators. Allow each elected official to nominate a person from his/her congressional district and state. Alternatively, use the most recent national census and ask the elected Congressional representative and Senator to appoint members for this group based on the diversity of the population within their respective district/state.

Now for perhaps the most challenging part of the proposal. The President and Congressional leaders MUST agree that the results of the charrette will be (a) put in effect by executive order and (b) the original group of 10 identified by the major political groups will craft legislation and submit it to the House of Representatives and Senate for action. If this is accomplished, we could start to see an immediate impact on solving these issues while the legislative process continues in passing these laws.

If the President refuses to sign the executive order or their successor cancels the executive order, they would have to explain to the citizens of this country. Similarly, once legislation is brought up for a vote, it would clearly show which Senators and Representatives are for making this country more equal versus those that are trying to hold this nation back.

This is not bypassing the standard legislative process. Any citizen can submit an idea for a bill by finding a willing sponsor in either the Senate or House. The charrette is simply a more structured process to allow for collaboration between groups. You may think this would be no different than any of the other "blue ribbon" panel that our government has convened. However, I am suggesting a commitment to implement real change is done upfront, and BEFORE anyone knows the outcome of the charrette. This is another opportunity for our political leaders to demonstrate courage and put country ahead of party affiliations.

You may think that a national charrette is overly simplistic and could never be inclusive of everyone's perspective. Perhaps you are right, that I am na?ve, childish in my thinking, and have oversimplified the solution. However, I am tired of hiding, being a coward, and not willing to fight for equality.  While I previously criticized Presidents Bush and Obama, they are mostly right – now is the time to fix this for future generations. Now is the time for all Americans to stand up, take charge, and remedy this problem. I want a better country for my children, my grandchildren, and every other child, regardless of who they are and the color of their skin.

If you do not like my proposal, share what you would do differently. We can always start a virtual charrette until the people we vote into office take notice. In the Marines, I was taught to "lead, follow, or get out of the way." I choose to lead, what is your choice?

If you want to learn more about the Durham charrette and its leader, Bill Riddick, click on the following link. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article228417994.html

This is a personal article. Any views or opinions represented in this article are personal and belong solely to me as the author and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that I may be associated with in a professional or personal capacity.