December 2024

“Racism isn't just a one-on-one problem.”

I want to start this month’s blog with a LinkedIn Post by Paul Lapido who is quoted above (shared with his permission).  I feel that this is an important and timely post, especially with the threat to DEI work. To learn more about Paul Lapido, you can view his LinkedIn profile here: linkedin.com/in/paul-ladipo.

“A heckler in one of my recent posts trashed DEI, asking how many people really care about the color of my skin.

Here's my rebuttal: racism isn't just a one-on-one problem. One of many gross misunderstandings about racism is that it's often seen as just involving two people. In some cases it is, like someone believing Black and other racially marginalized employees weren't fit for corporate leadership. But often, racism has a ripple effect. Here's how: 

👉🏾 Institutional. HR, management, and C-suite executives at Company X harbor the belief that white people make better leaders, no matter the qualifications. Their leadership pyramid becomes snow-capped, or disproportionately white.

👉🏾 Structural. Individuals at other institutions harbor the racist belief that people of color shouldn't be in leadership positions, so one organization isn’t the problem. Now, you could have 50, 100, or 1,000 organizations with the same snow-capping effect.

👉🏾 Internalized. Racially marginalized folks who do manage to climb the corporate ladder can and do internalize the racism they experience. Adopting English names, favoring white applicants, and assimilation to white American cultural norms are common ways to assimilate---and get ahead. 

So really, it doesn't matter if millions of other people don't care about the color of my skin. Enough people in all the wrong places do. This is why we have systemic problems such as the racial wealth gap, mass incarceration, and DEI being canceled at colleges and universities. When people in power don't check their biases, bad things happen.”

The Impact of Racial Difference in Supervision and Management: Facilitated by Tracey Rollins Spann, LMSW, and Robin Schlenger, LCSW.

  • 6.5 CEUs for NYS (LMSW, LCSW, LCAT, LMHC, LMFT, LPs (Psychoanalysts)

To get more information and to register: The Impact of Racial Difference in Supervision and Management

Robin Schlenger