Racism
and housing discrimination against senior citizens of color were not the first
things that Advocates for Senior Issues expected to take on in their goal of
addressing and enhancing diversity and inclusion. However,
this non-profit and volunteer-led organization in Grand Rapids, Michigan
realized that their initial focus on the goals and strategies of authentic
inclusion required them to be responsive to the inequity and unjust treatment
facing senior citizens of color in housing. After
all, they are called Advocates for Senior Issues. They
were my first client specifically in the diversity and inclusion area.
I
was still in the beginning of my pre-assessment phase of the organization based
on the Progress
Strategies Standards for Assessment of Inclusion and Diversity Performance and
Progress (SAID:P2) when
the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan (FHCWM) issued a report documenting
notable housing discrimination against seniors of color in our county. County-wide almost one out of every three (3) minority seniors or seniors with a disability seeking housing may meet an unlawful barrier posed by housing discrimination. At
the first review of the report it was my belief that Advocates for Senior
Issues should act on this issue even as we were just developing their
first-ever comprehensive inclusion program.
After
full review of FHCWM’s report funded by the Kent County Senior Millage and the
Area on Aging of West Michigan from 2007-2010, I asked Advocates for Senior
Issues to take the following actions:
1. Invite
the center to brief the entire membership on the report of housing
discrimination against seniors of color.
2. Consider
an action item or commitment to help call attention to this issue.
They
immediately responded to the call. FHCWM provided almost 200 members of
Advocates for Senior Issues with the presentation and briefing at a general
membership meeting. This meeting also marked the first such
presentation dealing with issues of race and inclusion. A
handful of those members voluntarily enlisted to become ‘testers’ almost
immediately.
Testing is a means to uncover evidence of race discrimination
in renting and housing. It was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in
1982. An
advocacy group will send a comparable (socio-economic similarities except for
race or ethnicity) white or person of color to inquire about housing at the
same property in order to document housing discrimination and preferential
treatment based on race.
As
I mentioned, some men and women of the almost exclusively white membership were
so moved by the presentation that they stepped up to ‘test’ themselves and the
system. They
were also a part of my test to determine their readiness to engage in the full
creation of a comprehensive organization diversity program of new policies,
procedures and external partnerships for authentic inclusion. It
was one of many choices they made to transcend the basic and myopic
organizational focus of 'diversifying membership.'
Once
again, this awareness and activity on the housing issue developed during the
middle of my assessment, research, and identification of key findings,
community surveying and sampling on community expectations of organization
diversity and 10 major strategic project action items. The comprehensive report
and strategies also included the development of the Advocates Improving in
Diversity Engagement grant in order to position the group to obtain resources
for sustaining their progress.
That
progress has included the following achievements from a committed group of
volunteer community leaders of a non-profit organization with two staff
members:
· The first
diversity and inclusion value statement and diversity and inclusion policies
with the full range of inclusion from race to sexual orientation.
· The adoption of
diversity and inclusion internal practices of membership recruitment and
external partnerships to address issues of equity.
· African-American
seniors as Elected Officers and Executive Committee members.
· African-American
seniors serving on the very important Legislative Committee.
· Before the
completion of the project they took immediate action on a specific
recommendation to move their meeting location from the suburbs to recommended
sites in the culturally diverse and second-largest city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They
have since expanded site locations that now include core city locations that
are home to religiously diverse communities.
· Continuing the
internal diversity and inclusion governance body. The
Advocates for Senior Issues Internal Committee established to monitor diversity
and inclusion program progress is now a permanent committee with the Progress
Strategies+ standard
organizational diversity structure.
· Utilization of
diversity and inclusion allies such as the organization’s financial sponsors
that includes corporations, educational institutions and organizations. Many
of them came together as the External Diversity Committee to critique the
project and offer input and changes. At the time, the committee met
quarterly to respond to the development of strategic action items and
recommendations.
· While once again
working to implement diverse membership cultivation strategies, the
organization is also addressing systemic issues of exclusion such as
transportation access for economically underrepresented senior citizens who are
unable to attend Advocates meetings.
I
could cite many other areas of progress that this organization is achieving
based on the project. However, I have a personal observation to make as a result
of the privilege to create and propose strategies that they are working on to
enhance inclusion ---not simply promoting diversity.
Towards
the beginning of my work I thought of my late grandfather who grew up in the
segregated south in Louisiana. Although he was an entrepreneur and
self-trained electrician while working for a local elementary school, he was
subjected to racism during elections. Election officials would inform him that
his voting place was not in his parish (county), but another one miles away. Officials
in that next parish would 'produce' information that his voting place was in an
adjacent parish. So on and so forth as they hoped to run the clock
out on his time to vote as he was finishing a regular late workday.
During
the work with Advocates for Senior Issues my thoughts grew towards wondering
how his full inclusion into civic participation would have been if such an
organization existed in his town---a town that only a few years ago drew
national attention when a Justice of the Peace refused to marry an interracial
couple. It
is rewarding to know that in my hometown Advocates for Senior Issues is
developing into allies and practitioners of inclusive policies for senior
citizens of all backgrounds.
Here
are my thoughts of how they are developing into allies and practitioners
authentic organizational inclusion policies:
· They recognized
that addressing diversity was not simply a membership issue. Rather,
doing so is a moral issue. They realized that the imperative of
including seniors of all backgrounds into every fabric of their organization
(especially in leadership) was not one solely of membership enhancement. Advocates
knew that they are not truly authentic advocates if they are both absent of diverse
members and absent of awareness of the particular conditions that racially and
ethnically diverse seniors face every day.
· They
demonstrated a willingness to confront issues such as race prior to starting
the work of authentic inclusion. Authentic inclusion means creating
internal and external systems of meaningful power sharing and intentional
outcomes among people of color coming into an organization. The
leadership of Advocates enrolled in Healing Racism sessions at my request
before I started my work. The basic premise was that the leaders
needed to be prepared for the reality that their work was not just setting the
table to invite ‘different’ people to their group. Their call as leaders
is to change that table and the unseen structures that prevented seniors of
different backgrounds from coming to the table.
· They are
becoming allies of inclusion and not just a group simply embracing
diversity. Remember
their fair housing response. Ally development regardless of the organization
is the harder work of inclusion and diversity. The
Center for Assessment and Policy Development defines an ally as “someone who
supports a group other than one’s own (in terms of racial identity, gender,
faith identity, sexual orientation, etc.). Allies
acknowledge disadvantage and oppression of other groups than that of their
own. They
take risks and supportive action on their behalf.”
Ally
development is what Steelcase, Herman Miller, Irwin Seating and others are
doing in supporting the addition of anti-discrimination protections for the
LGBT community in Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. As a
young woman of the ‘creative class’ that cities so desperately desire once said
to me, “I’m about working at places and joining groups that have my back like
the Verizon man.” She was partially quoting a rap song lyric equating
allies with the Verizon commercial where thousands of people
in the phone network are following the Verizon man around. His
network is that extensive. I should get some 'cool points' translating
all of that for you.
Basically,
her point was to underscore that being an ally to your diverse employees or
membership is the best and basic recruitment tool. Advocates
for Senior Issues represent this quality as they are addressing transportation
as a socio-economic impediment for financially vulnerable seniors who cannot attend
meetings. That
is the work of what an inclusion ally does.
Let
me end by doing what is part of my personal and professional
endeavors---specifically one of five social responsibility areas of my project
management consultancy: Public Policy and Advocacy. I
want to take a brief moment for advocacy on behalf of Advocates for Senior
Issues and all senior citizens in my hometown. Here
in Kent County of the great state of Michigan we will look forward to a vote on
our Senior Millage. On August 5, 2014 the Senior Millage is
up for renewal and a slight increase. Approving the millage will continue
important funding of 43 different services for senior citizens ranging from
home care to fair housing services.
For
those local allies who want to ensure that we can continue to promote the
health, dignity and safety of older adults, please support the millage and
visit www.kentseniormillage.com to
learn more about the millage and the services it will continue. Thank
you.
Eric
K. Foster is Principal and President of Progress Strategies+, a project management
consultancy specializing in five areas of social responsibility (Diversity
& Inclusion, Community Engagement Strategies, Grant Writing/Project
Management, Public Policy & Advocacy and Corporate Social Responsibility).
Advocates for Senior Issues is highlighted as a former client for their
great commitment and accomplishments. They are also highlighted in
recognition of his grandfather’s perseverance.
Please
visit Progress Strategies+ at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Progress-Strategies
twitter.com/ProgStrategies
