Our Purpose-Driven Work With DEI

The Business Case and Mission Imperative for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace Have Never Been Greater!

July 19, 2023 |Chicago, IL

By Dr. Marcus Robinson

Previously published under the title “Why Affirmative Action in the First Place?” Dr. Robinson makes the case that the 60-year effort to mainstream protected classes into the modern workplace has paid huge dividends to American society.?He makes a case for the impact DEI efforts have had on wealth creation in the United States.

"Deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.”?- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said, "With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces, 'colorblindness for all' by legal fiat.”?She wrote that in her dissenting opinion in response to the 6-3 decision by the court to strike down the Affirmative Action Law along party lines. ?She stated, "Deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life.” ?Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson rightfully points out that nothing could be farther from the truth.

The issue of racism, rooted in the superstition of race, is a cultural malformation of American society.?This mask of White Supremacy so profoundly innervates American society that its existence is no longer questioned by far too many. Therefore, the caste system of White Supremacy continues to extract value and cause harm to millions like “that man behind the curtains” in the fabled tale of the Wizard of Oz.

Pressing the Oz metaphor, we can infer that so long as no one pays attention to the man behind the curtain, the Wizard remains all-powerful and domineering.?Once revealed and his true nature understood, then the people of Oz are all freed to pursue their lives on terms not handed down by an all-powerful authoritarian caste system.?I say that the same is true for American White Supremacy. Once unconcealed and revealed, it loses its power over all of us – White, Black, Indigenous, all People of Color.

Here is the one thing I want you to take from this message today: when it comes to “race relations” in the United States, IT’S NOT Black vs. Whites. It’s Blacks versus racism.?Let us not confuse the two.

The Affirmative Action law was a legal response to cultural norms of race and gender oppression in the American workplace and society at large. Once integrated into workplace norms through the often flawed yet viable work of DEI, breakthroughs in productivity, performance, and profitability have helped our nation to become the strongest national economic power in the history of the world.?For God’s sake, the Dow was trading between 600-1000 in the 1960s when Affirmative Action became the law of the land! Today, it's over 33,000!! I say that awe-inspiring economic performance was attained largely because of the value-creating benefits of adding Blacks, women, People of Color, and White allies at every level of human enterprise.?Moving away from the essence of affirmative action is to forsake the secret sauce of American society.?… if only you could see it this way.

Want to catch the next big wave in human performance in a conscious organizational setting in your business, agency, nonprofit, or institution? Great, then follow this link for a free consultation.

www.DrMarcusRobinson.com

#TransformativeLeader #CulturalCreative #SocialInnovator #UrbanShaman