Editorial: Achieving racial equity requires little steps, and some big ones
At the end of September, the historic Worcester performance venue Mechanics Hall decided it will add the first portraits of Black Americans to its Great Hall gallery, a move falling about 20 years after the first portraits of women were placed on the walls of the 163-year-old facility.
These new portraits of abolitionist Frederick Douglass and William Brown, the first Black member of the Worcester County Mechanics Association, are a visible gesture recognizing the racial injustice and diversity & inclusion problems plaguing our country right now. While the country, and our regional leaders have talked a lot this year about this critical issue, it's rewarding to see tangible – if small – steps in the right direction.
Racism and prejudice against groups of people are not just the scourge of today’s society, but have plagued humanity for nearly all of its existence. With the increased awareness and momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, Central Massachusetts organizations of all sizes are committing to a variety of diversity & inclusion efforts. While small changes need to be recognized and encouraged, we all recognize it will take a sustained effort over a much longer period of time to make a lasting impact.
A few months ago WBJ wrote a letter reflecting our position on the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd and the movement for racial justice that followed. The objective we hope our community can achieve is to take advantage of the talent of all its members, offering opportunities to all, and overcoming any prejudice along the way. It's a big goal requiring big ideas, and in many cases a lot of hard yards in evaluating the culture and any hidden biases existing in the workplace.
For companies, particularly small businesses, who share these values but may not have the resources to focus on the many steps it will take to get there, a lot of wisdom can be gleaned from our larger organizations, who have created structures and processes to address diversity and inclusion.
Change is messy, and improvement doesn’t come in a straight upward line; it’s an exercise in fits and starts, setbacks and achievements. Mechanics Hall’s portrait decision may be largely symbolic, but symbolism counts. As Staff Writer Monica Busch points out in her story “Teaching racial justice” on page 10, Clark University spent the summer trying to address issues with racial inequity, but was criticized by its Black Student Union for not doing enough.
Clark and Mechanics Hall are making moves showing their values are aligned with their actions, and the cover that wraps around this issue with the logos of the sponsors of our Diversity & Inclusion section, along with a number of columns from those sponsors in this edition, shows a strong level of support for change from our corporate community. That is an encouraging sign we hope others will follow.
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