我们如何推动变革，解决工作场所的系统性种族主义？ 用你的声音，用你的投票，用你的购买力。
That was one of the primary messages emerging from the first of a series of “Critical Conversations” panel discussions sponsored by Chancellor Mauli Agrawal of the 威尼斯人娱乐城 and the university’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion.
Panelists discussed how racism – often unconscious but no less real – remains pervasive in the American workplace, despite years of training programs and volumes of legislation. 讨论小组成员表示，为了延续乔治·弗洛伊德（George Floyd）在明尼阿波利斯被谋杀后出现的反种族主义势头，有色人种及其白人盟友必须利用多种途径推动持续的意识和行动。 超过600人收看了节目。
参与小组讨论的成员包括：
- Gary O'Bannon（主持人），Henry W. Bloch管理学院驻校行政人员，密苏里州堪萨斯城前人力资源总监
- Clyde McQueen，充分就业委员会总裁兼首席执行官
- Uzo Nwonwu， UMB银行企业法律顾问
- Jeffrey J. Simon， Husch Blackwell LLP办公室管理合伙人
- A’yanna Tomlin， 威尼斯人娱乐城学生，攻读工商管理专业
Racism in the workplace is rarely overt or obvious, Nwonwu said, and it is often sanctioned by “facially neutral” language: a policy or standard that does not mention race, but has the net effect of favoring white people and exploiting disadvantages that are more prevalent or powerful among people of color.
西蒙说，一个例子是一个有利于白人男性在权力结构网络中建立联系的标准，比如律师事务所合伙人的最低收入标准。
麦昆说，它也可以是微妙的。 当有色人种在群体交往中不被承认或认可时，他们有时会失去信心，变得孤僻。
“They take themselves out of the game,” he said.
Tomlin said people of color often feel pressured to practice “respectability politics” in the workplace: “Putting on an act, a face, to make the other people in the room more comfortable.”
小组成员一致认为，政府和企业政策在职场种族主义中也发挥着重要作用。 例如，这些政策将许多最好的工作机会赶出了城市核心，使有色人种所依赖的资金不足的公共交通系统遥不可及。
工作场所的多元化规划往往是一种打勾式的练习，对根深蒂固的公司文化几乎没有影响。 小组成员提出了几个克服这一障碍的策略。
McQueen said organizations must commit to monitoring progress and reporting improvement – or the lack thereof – in an honest and transparent manner. “Build cultural competency into job descriptions and performance reviews,” he said.
“If you’re not getting it done in-house, you need to bring in an outside expert,” Nwonwu said. “Outside forces can infuse new ideas into the conversation but change has to come from inside.”
Nwonwu说，当进步没有发生时，人们必须决定要么面对它，要么在其他地方寻找更好的机会。 西蒙说，这不仅适用于那些经历过职场种族歧视的人，也适用于那些目睹过种族歧视的人。 有色人种不能独自承担这个重担，
“The white power structure that built the structure of systemic racism has to be a part of tearing it down,” he said. ”It takes leadership, and a sincere, heartfelt belief that it’s part of who we are and what we believe in. And to have the courage to look at ourselves and say, here is where we are not doing a good job.”
汤姆林说，公司需要言行一致。
“A lot of these companies issued statements of solidarity with Black Lives Matter, but then I look at their all-white executive board. You have to practice what you preach.”
麦昆敦促人们做必要的研究，有效地利用自己的权力，与那些真正致力于解决系统性种族主义问题的组织合作。 这既适用于个人消费，也适用于组织内的业务关系。
“Use your voice, use your vote and use your purchasing power,” he said.