What's on My Mind Today

This is a reflection, a commentary if you will, I have wanted to share for a very long time.

To be honest, the "long time" has been over 10 years. It began when I started tracking and marking the various 50th year anniversaries of civil rights milestones which were so key to my childhood.?#ChildOfTheSixties.

And now here we are, 2023 and now marking 60th year civil rights milestones. And if I am to be honest, there has always been a sadness within me given where we are in this country when it comes to race relations. That Jane Elliott video is always top-of-mind with me, never far from the forefront of what it is in calling oneself a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) advocate.

Fast forward, the following is a mash-up if you will of several articles I had read in recent days.

In summary, we are living through the backlash driven by white supremacy in this country. It’s so very dangerous and the promise of violence is real. Desperate actions being taken by desperate people. Younger generations e.g., Gen Z and Gen Alpha might be the salvation in fighting the culture wars taking place. We certainly pray that they are. Allyship or better stated, co-conspiratorship as preached and defined in a sermon recently by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III is so very critical and the call to action for those of consciousness during these turbulent times.

States like Florida, Ohio and Texas have banned diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at state-funded colleges and universities. And here in Arkansas, where I have lived for the past 17 years, the chancellor at the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville) has dissolved the DEI office. One report sees the dissolving action may actually be one that is structured to save DEI. Or viewed through another lens, the question is asked whether this a capitulation to right wing demands or a savvy defense tactic?

But one thing is for sure. The racial equity so many people fought so very hard to gain is being attacked and subsequently, is being dismantled. And with this occurring in the academic sector described above, how long will it be before the corporate sector is affected and impacted? For example, recently we have seen the financial hit that Anheuser Busch's Bud Light brand has taken in supporting the LGBTQ+ community. And making it both professionally and personal for me, a company which I am a shareholder of, two shareholder proposals went down in defeat at its recent annual shareholder's meeting. These two proposals respectively were calling for a racial equity audit and a racial and gender layoff diversity report.

And with such actions that have been highlighted in this reflection of mine, we stay focused on the call on our life. We hold on to a powerful quote of Harriet Tubman: "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars, to change the world".

More than ever, the voting electorate has to realize, it is necessary to be informed, act and demand more from our leaders.?#StayVigilant?and?#StayWoke.?#Vote.