“It’s times like these that try our souls”…the shooting and violent events of the summer of 2016 evoked raw emotions from every corner of our country and globe. From heartbroken, to horrified, to angered, to confused, to fearful and every emotion in between, we were, as a nation hurting and left wondering how this could be happening. At Diversity Best Practices we had a record number of our members turning to us for help as they navigated these difficult times and sorted out their approach to them.

Diversity and Inclusion practitioners and champions were finding themselves wondering what to do. “How should we handle this?” “What are other companies doing?” “Should we say anything about this?” “What if we get pushback or backlash?” While almost everyone was asking these question, it was, in some ways, indicative of our general hesitancy to address race issues head on. These conversations are hard and uncomfortable and there can be risk involved. But if we have learned anything from history, some of the greatest change occurs when we are bold and face these challenges with a willingness to leave our comfort zone.

At Diversity Best Practices, we recommended addressing the issues through communications and dialogue, both internally and externally. The fact of the matter is, your employees and your customers and clients are talking and thinking about it, potentially even consumed by the rampant inequities of racial justice and crimes of hate and discrimination against any population.

To support our members in these difficult conversations we created Turbulent Times Call for Bold Action, a resource guide for our members to provide tools and resources to support their efforts to facilitate these challenging conversations.

Jennifer London