A Local Breakthrough in Diversity Training

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In October, there was an unfortunate incident at a local shopping center in Raleigh when a security officer asked two lesbians who were sharing a brief kiss to leave, citing their “inappropriate behavior.” These two brave women spoke out publicly about the incident, and the shopping center management apologized and committed to assuring that the security staff received appropriate sensitivity and diversity training.

In November, I was hired to provide this training to 32 security officers. Instead of “going through the motions” and scheduling the training to only to appease others, the management team was truly committed to providing meaningful and relevant training for the staff. The senior manager worked throughout the day to assure that all 32 officers attended one of the training sessions, and he personally kicked off each with how important it is for his team to pay close attention and participate so they can grow their skills as security officers in dealing with the diverse people they interact with.

In all three sessions, which had between 10-12 officers, each participant was engaged and participated in the sessions, exhibiting sincere desire to learn from this unfortunate incident and gain stronger skills to improve interaction. In the evaluation, all participants stated that the diversity training material would be helpful to them in better performing their jobs.

Photo: Lesbian pioneer activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon who were partners for 56 years before Del passed away in 2008.

Lessons I feel we can all learn from this experience:
• People who speak out when they feel their rights have been violated help us all move forward. We owe them a big “Thank You!”
• When there is inappropriate action based on a lack of understanding around diversity, people can be sincerely open and can be trained to improve interactions with the diverse people of our community. We need to be slower to judge others and more open to educating others.
• Good can come from unfortunate situations when people work together to address them.
• It is important for leaders (in this case the senior manager of the security team) to set the tone by emphasizing the importance of diversity.

Take my GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) Diversity Test and see how strong your enterprise is in this area. Perhaps some LGBT specific or general diversity training can benefit your enterprise. Diversity Test Link.

Retirement – Having the Time to Make an Impact

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Having retired from IBM in March, I no longer have the time pressures of a demanding full time job. I have more flexibility to manage my time including the mix of working in my own consulting practice, traveling and volunteering to make the world a better place.

To me, one of my core values is to try to make the world a better place. I am excited that in December I have been given two great opportunities for that. First, I was elected President of the North Carolina Council of Churches, an organization of 18 denominations and several independent churches working to build unity and provide a safe space for dialogue across North Carolina, and to impact the lives of all North Carolinians through putting our faith into positive social justice actions. Here are articles from our local press and from the AP (Associated Press.)

Second, I was appointed by the Raleigh City Council to Raleigh’s Human Relations Commission, which is an advisory board appointed by the City Council to serve as an advocate for all people, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, economic status or age in pursuit of human and economic relationships. The Commission promotes activities, education and programs that enhance human dignity, equal opportunity, mutual respect and harmony among Raleigh citizens. Link.

Finally, in addition to community service within North Carolina, I have started the funding for the non-profit Global Roots to build a vocational training school, the Kimer-Kamba Vocational School, in Mtito Andei, one of the most impoverished cities in Kenya. You can read about it on this site: Africa Center.

A recent AARP magazine featured an article about the increasing number of American “baby-boomers” who are retiring from their first careers and ready and able to volunteer in community organizations as well as providing a well-trained motivated part time work force. As for me, I am looking to do both; serving in various organizations included those detailed above, and starting my own consulting practice where I aspire to make some extra income while providing valuable services for companies and organizations.

Photo: My partner Rich Roark interacting with the children at a school in Mtito Andei, Kenya