Racism is a disease of the heart, and mainly affects an individual’s mindset, which ultimately influences their actions and behavior. A conglomerate of people have been infected by the disease of racism, and it has bled into the systems they created and the generations that have followed. Due to the spread of the disease of racism Black Americans have had access to less opportunity and resources than their White peers on an astronomical amount of occasions. Curing the disease and beginning a rectification process towards the systematic setbacks African Americans have faced, starts with creating a diversity inclusion company. The process of healing the disease of racism starts with creating a Black-led organization that specializes in diversity and inclusion training for all organizations around the United States, including (but not limited to) corporations, nonprofits, police departments, government parties, etc,.
This training company will have a mandatory training program for those mentioned above, and will also partner with organizations such as NAACP, and their extension group called Act-So. Act-So focuses on helping minority high school youth specialize in specific areas of study through competition, preparing them for the future (aka college). A staffing department will exist as a part of the training company to provide resources to these individuals after they graduate college. The training company will strive to accomplish the following: training organizations on how to properly integrate diversity into their employment opportunities, setting a requirement for a base level percentage of diversity, and maintaining connections with each organization that passes the offered certification as potential employment for Black qualified workers. The staffing department will ultimately increase cultural integration and serve as the physical application of abolishing systematic racism.
There will be different departments within the training program focusing on the following groups: CEO/Executive Directors, Large Corporations/Nonprofits, Small Businesses/Nonprofits, Chief of Police, Law Enforcement, and Government Officials. There will be a Diversity and Inclusion 101 course that is considered a prerequisite for all departments and will focus on history and racism. The 201 level Diversity and Inclusion course will teach current racism abolishment application strategies in the specialized departments. Each department will have the opportunity to complete the certification by taking and passing an exam. The final certification exam will have paid or volunteer actors who will enact a confrontational scenario that has stemmed from the disease of racism. The exam scenarios will be created to gauge the examinee’s comprehension of history and racism from course 101, and their ability to apply the current racism abolishment strategies from course 201. These scenarios will be detailed to specific workplace environments, and the examinee’s response will determine whether they pass or fail. The formulation of this training program provides knowledge and insight that will lead to an increase in social awareness, and create opportunity for a change in the hearts and minds of those who pass.
Government support for the training business as a for-profit company is essential for success. Requirements will need to be made by government officials to set standards for each organization mentioned earlier. For example, to maintain the status of a corporation, all businesses, current and starting, must complete the diversity training certification and maintain a floor level quantity of diversity amongst their employees and leadership. To become and maintain the status of Chief of Police all candidates must complete the diversity training certification with scheduled renewals. Accountability will be essential in maintaining a constant level of growth, therefore, the training company will also have an outreach/audit department that focuses on assuring all guidelines are adhered to. If an organization fails an audit the certification can and will be revoked. This level of accountability will ensure that the positive influences made in perspectives, social awareness, and cultural integration are continuous.
Racism is a disease that starts at the heart, spreads to the mind, and poisons the systematic structures built by those infected. With the creation of a Black-led, for-profit training company a process can begin to undo the years of poisoning America has faced. Heart, mind, and system can be cured. Connections and resources available to Black Americans will be increased. Shared and properly trained diversity and inclusion techniques can and will lead to overall unity. Through the cultural integration aspect of the staffing department, the social awareness that stems from the departmentalized application courses, and the accountability that comes from the outreach department and government officials, curing the disease of racism is a reality.