- Be guided by profit. All profit matters. In profit we trust. Any one of those three statements might as well be the mission statement of companies that show their true color (pun intended and appropriate). Profit is what determines “moral compass.” Companies that are reneging on their pledge to stop donations to seditionist senators remind me of white folks for whom racism was not a deal-breaker when voting for 45. They were more concerned for the health of their 401K than they were the lives of humans. If the mantra has been profit over people, where do Black folks fit who are not even considered people? Also, take note of the curious case of Delta Airlines. Delta has been living its best life in Atlanta, serving its corporate interests while protecting white supremacy. When the public pressure about its silence on voter suppression laws became too much, the CEO begrudgingly spoke out. So what did white supremacy then do? It clapped back on Delta’s profits by repealing a “law” that benefited Delta’s profit. White supremacy depends on love of profit to keep it going. When the love for humanity is greater, that’s a serious blow to white supremacy.
- Apologize only when caught. However, double-down when too much money is at stake. The non-apology apology is so prevalent now that it’s become a thing. I can almost set my watch to it. Only when the public heat gets to be too much do companies feel “compelled” to come out with a statement. They calculate the projected loss in profits, but if their calculations indicate that they will ultimately lose more by apologizing, they double-down and take the short-term loss. Wells Fargo is one of several companies that traffics in the non-apology apology.
- Invest in the appearance of progress and change. Performative DEI involves acquiring a few Black and Brown employees, adding their images on the company website, and parading them for everyone to see in an environment lacking in true equity, inclusion, or belonging. In other words, instead of getting rid of the “elephant,” companies opt to dress the elephant in nice clothes for a “presto-chango” in appearance. Since the murder of George Flloyd especially, this particular move has been companies’ seasonal one-off of the moment. “What is the quickest thing we can do right now to make ourselves look better?” Companies have shown us that this question is the overriding impetus for performative theater aka anti-racism and DEI acts.
- Put in place a Black Chief Diversity Officer to take the fall. Nothing screams inclusion like the elevation of a Black person to Chief Diversity Officer. NOT. Black CDOs are name-only. Their “power” is symbolic. They are frequently high-priced tokens that make the company look good. When change doesn’t happen or when issues arise, the company has a ready internal patsy to whom they can deflect blame. For the more serious problems that leak out to the public and create a PR nightmare, companies will even fire their CDO in a self-righteous hot minute while cushioning and protecting its white CEO. Morgan Stanley’s former CDO knows the game plan all too well. Just like electing a Black president for 8 years didn’t make this country’s racism go away, hiring a Black CDO doesn’t make a company’s racism go away.
- Declare Black lives political, and then forbid politics in the workplace. This. One. Is. Just. Straight. Up. Foul. Even wearing a mask or tee-shirt emblazoned with “Black Lives Matter could get you suspended or fired. During slavery, Black lives were the property—legally—of white people. When slavery was abolished, Black lives ran the gamut of being disposable, inconvenient, worthless, threatening, political. To date, there’s been no widespread acknowledgment that Black lives are HUMAN. It’s 2021 y’all, and the U.S. has not even cleared that low bar to act in ways consistent with and that affirm the humanity of its Black citizens.
*For more on performative behaviors, check out Blaxhaustion, Karens & Other Threats to Black Lives and Well-Being
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