(ThyBlackMan.com) Diversity is a term that makes sense when you look at is as having fair representation of the actual population in different spaces. This should be our expectation in education, housing, employment, and every other aspect of life. Black people, and POC in this country have been fighting to have the need for diversity to be recognized and acted upon. After many landmark lawsuits against corporations such as Coca-Cola and Texaco there was an understanding that diversity had to be tackled so that money is not lost. Many companies claim to champion diversity and have teams that are supposed to find innovative ways to promote such. Universities go to great lengths to display an image of a diverse student body, faculty, and staff. If they are found to be lacking, there is a plan put in place to diversify said university. The problem is it seems buying into diversity is the same as drinking the Kool-Aid of manipulation. “Diversity, Inc.” by Pamela Newkirk breaks down the nuances of diversity and why its an uphill battle we must continue to fight.
“In examining the data and conversing with scores of people on the front lines of the movement for change, I discovered some of the reasons why, despite decades of deliberation and multibillion-dollar initiatives, many are still pondering and gesturing rather than meaningfully increasing diversity.”
Diversity, Inc. addresses the issues of diversity in many areas while focusing on the challenges seen in entertainment, Hollywood, academia, and corporate America. Newkirk takes her time and unpacks the past of this country through legal cases and consistent social unrest to show the reader the need for diversity, but also ways that it could be a façade. She wants the reader to see for themselves how something so necessary in this country could become a punchline as the powers that be grapple with what it would truly mean to have a diverse nation. What does it really mean for all people to have a piece of the power in this country?
“In a nation that has -as a result of political and numerical dominance- largely been defined by Whiteness, what would a truly diverse society mean culturally, politically, spiritually, economically, and psychologically for White Americans? What would it mean for America?”
Diversity, Inc. is a great book to start a research on the subject of diversity and how it effects black people, and POC, in this country. It is loaded with detailed information while offering many sources for continued learning on the matter. The reader could use this book for scholarly work as well as personal reading. Though it is a research topic the reading is relatable to anyone that decided to partake of this book. Pamela Newkirk has put this book together in a way that is understandable to the masses. She lays a foundation on the subject of diversity, and the fight both for, and against, it. I would recommend highly recommend this book; diversity is something we all need to exist in this country in a functional capacity. Diversity, or the lack thereof, effects every aspect of our life.
“Diversity, Inc.” by Pamela Newkirk is available on Amazon, and anywhere books are sold.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
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