The province of Saskatchewan has a booming economy but projections are that the current workforce will shrink as workers get older. So they are looking for workers. However, merely filling the ranks is not good enough. They must create an inclusive culture. Despite being recognized as one of Canada's top "diversity employers", creating an inclusive culture is... Read More
Few people would disagree that Blacks and other non-whites are treated differently than whites by the criminal justice system. All the statistical data show that Blacks get harsher penalties, longer sentences and are over-represented in prisons . Many people blame police for this disparity and they are partly right; but the average cop on the beat is... Read More
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is an odd day indeed. Do we wish each other "happy racism elimination day" or do we express "condolences"? In 1966 the United Nations designated March 21 to commemorate the policing killing of 69 people (mostly unarmed students) at a peaceful demonstration against the... Read More
[caption id="attachment_573" align="alignleft" width="123"] What do you see? A vase or two faces?[/caption] Many people and organizations are becoming more interested in implicit or unconscious bias and the role it plays in our interaction with those who are different. Just like "mindbugs" that trick the brain into seeing things that aren't there, we also have... Read More
[caption id="attachment_546" align="alignleft" width="396"] Dr. King delivers famous I Have A Dream speech to nearly 300,000 people in Washington, D.C[/caption] Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated yesterday (Jan 20) across the United States, in Canada and around the world. This is done each year on the third Monday of January. The day had me... Read More
A new study by researchers at San Francisco State University has confirmed what many people have known all along (at least those in the African Diaspora). The study titled, "When an 'Educated' Black Man Becomes Lighter in the Mind’s Eye" found that the more educated and competent a black individual is perceived to be, the "lighter"... Read More
Rodney King died without ever getting the answer to the question he asked so many years ago: "Can we all get along?" The man who ignited one of the worst urban riots in U.S. history left this world not with a bang but with a whimper when he apparently accidentally drowned in his backyard swimming pool on June... Read More
In his book Modern Madness: The Hidden link between Work and Emotional Conflict, Douglas Labier asks some fundamental questions about the relationship between the mental health of employees and the health of organizations in which they work. For example: What type of organizational environments are workers being encouraged (forced) to adapt to? What are the... Read More
Ten years ago a most remarkable thing happened on Toronto radio; Canada's first "urban music" -- read "black" -- radio station was launched. There was a huge party in downtown Toronto with hundreds of jubilant people and thousands more listening to the live broadcast at home (I was among them) as Bob Marley's "Roots, Rock, Reggae”... Read More
One year ago this month, a bold and out-of-the-frame project was launched to change the face of leadership in the city of Toronto. The primary goal of DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project was not merely to bring more diverse faces -- specifically non-whites -- into the boardrooms of power, it was about bringing people in... Read More