"The very serious function of racism is distraction." Toni Morrison
Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH
Division Director at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
"The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being."
Wow, I heard this Toni Morrison quote on the way to church this morning. It resonated with me in a strong way. I returned home on Friday from Seattle after speaking at a DEIAB+ workshop. For me, it was a stretch topic for me to speak about. My area of expertise is Health Equity (community based) not what hiring practices are in place to create a diverse workforce. I want to thank the organizer (@Paul O. Buckley) for giving me the opportunity to stretch myself to consider how I think about the connection between health equity and diversity. As I was preparing for the conference and even during the presentation, I understood we cannot do the most impactful job if the workforce does not reflect the people being served regardless of the industry.
Starting in 2020, I co-led a health equity task force in my workplace. I committed 18 months to work on this effort. I limited my commitment to a short period of time to help all involved know that we were in an “urgent” environment. I knew from my life experience that we would only have a short period of time to use the urgency of George Floyd’s murder as a catalyst for action. Unfortunately, I was right. We have seen a decline in efforts to ensure a diverse workforce. Many positions were created and then deconstructed.
Our effort within our organization was to implement changes that change the structure of how processes are implemented AND to have measures to track success. Most importantly, the data to monitor the desired change is the most critical activity of all. I believe we have done that. For example, if we want responses to our funding opportunities to reflect health equity principles, we have to write that into our funding announcements. ?On the funders side of the equation, those of us writing these announcements must opt out of including these measures, not opt in. Realistically we are asking people to follow more steps, but it is necessary to ensure equity is a part of all of the work we do.
Back to Toni Morrison’s quote… “The very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.”
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For all of us dedicated to getting to equity in the larger world, we have to work together toward that common goal. We cannot be distracted by racism. Having to explain why the work we do is important, is distracting and slows us down. We all belong and must get on with the hard work of diversifying the work force that will keep us from being distracted by racism.
Educator, Consultant, Speaker, Organizational Change Agent and Strategist.
9 个月Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH. Thank you so much for sharing with us at the Fred Hutch 4th Annual Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit. You were well received and it's important to note that your offering is aligned within the work of 'DEI'-- workforce development and the collection of practices that remove barriers and empower all of us to do our best work is what this is all about, ultimately enabling the highest quality of care for our patients. THANK YOU for your work. More soon...
Oncology RN, navigator, advocate; program facilitator; Content expert: breast cancer, GYN oncology, precision medicine, patient experience, strategy, quality; Relies on science; Diversity, equity and inclusion always
9 个月Thank you for this. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my antiracist journey over the last 4 years especially is that it’s a lifelong commitment, not a one time webinar or a weekend seminar. The work is day in and day out, and if we’re doing it right then we will know because it’s uncomfortable and challenging, and requires constant reflection. It is work and demands focus and redirection: I try to remember the wisdom of the Pirkei Avot: “we are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are we free to desist from it!” Thanks for your leadership, humility, courage and wisdom Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH , your example is a gift to the world. ????
Founder of Black Cancer Collaborative,/Chair of Illinois Special Gynecologic Cancer Commission/Patient Researcher/Ovarian and Breast Cancer Survivor
9 个月We keep explaining because the majority don’t have “ears to hear”.