BBRC members Jenkins Davis and Jeanne Hanson led a discussion of the Debby Irving book, Waking Up White for this evening session. This was intended to continue the dialogue about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) that began with the January 2021 panel discussion.
The BBRC DEI Committee including Jeanne Hanson, Jenkins Davis, Kris Young, Suzanne Gibson, Maria Peterson and Mary Holcomb was well represented, and other BBRC members were comfortable sharing their experiences and thoughts.
Jeanne reviewed the Rotary International statement regarding DEI, and highlighted the link between DEI and our Four Way Test…Fair to all concerned….Beneficial to all concerned.
While the group felt our BBRC Club was welcoming to a diverse membership, we all had things to learn, and we needed to continue to talk about the issues involved.
Some of the book’s key points addressed the sense of “other.” Individual BBRC members reviewed chapters that they felt were particularly relevant:
Jenkins Davis spoke to the differences between RACE and CLASS.
Mary Holcomb shared her surprise at finding out some of the unintended/ systemic racial biases in the role out of the GI Bill after WWII. Some of the issues such as red lining and block busting were not commonly acknowledged problems, nor was the eventual impact of urban renewal which left entire minority neighborhoods leveled to make way for infrastructure projects, erasing affordable housing potential.
Kris Young highlighted the Logos and Stereotypes chapters explaining that humans are hard-wired to categorize and judge, almost as an extension of the fight or flight reaction. Empathy needs to be taught.
All of these comments stimulated some great conversations and sharing as the evening progressed.
This was an example of the type of dialogue that needs to continue across our Club and our community. Jeanne subsequently provided some resources/ references below: