by Dr. Boyce Watkins, YourBlackWorld.com, Scholarship in Action
I took a look at an ABC News picture of President Barack Obama sitting in a Situation Room with lead advisers watching the assassination of Obama bin Laden. Everyone had a tense look on their face, as 10 years of hard work suddenly came down to the wire. I couldn’t help but notice, as I scanned all the faces across the room, that there were only two women present (Hillary Clinton and another woman in the back), and one bi-racial black man (President Obama). Every other person in the room was a white male.
What startles me the most is that millions of other Americans can look at this picture and see absolutely nothing wrong with it. The “white guy’s club” has always been the status quo in leadership positions.
It appears that this problem doesn’t just exist in government, it exists in academia, corporate America and nearly every other institution in our nation. Most interesting is that no one seems to care or take the matter seriously. Quite a few universities and corporations love to use the word “diversity” as if it were some kind of intellectual toilet paper, but most of them don’t actually practice anything close to what they preach.
A study by the Alliance for Board Diversity has found that not much has changed over the last 100 years as it pertains to the presence of women and minorities on corporate boards. Sure, people of color have made some advances, but we are still stuck with an apartheid system as it pertains to the non-white male presence in key decision-making positions.
“While research points decisively to the benefits of a diverse boardroom— including enhanced financial performance—white men continue to dominate corporate boards
and have, in fact, increased their presence since 2004. Women and minorities are still vastly underrepresented,” said the report.
According to the group’s most recent survey, white males hold 72.9% of the total number of seats on Fortune 100 corporate boards, and white women hold another 14.5%. Therefore, only 12.6% of the seats are held by members of underrepresented minority groups. African-Americans hold a total of 6.3% of the seats, although they represent 13% of the population. Hispanics and Native American citizens are also shut out almost completely.
The study shows that between the years 2004 and 2010, African American males were the greatest losers in the total number of seats on Fortune 100 corporate boards. Black maleslost 42 seats, which is much higher than the second-worst group, Hispanic men (-2). White males gained the most seats, with 32. So, like many other economic indicators across America, black males are at the bottom of the statistical pile. It’s oddly coincidental that even educated and highly-accomplished black men are having the same challenges as uneducated black men who fill our penitentiaries. President Obama’s recent experiences with those questioning his citizenship and Ivy League credentials serves as a widely-viewed example of what millions of educated black males experience on the job every single day. Yes people, racism does still exist.
The group makes the accurate assessment that the United States cannot be fully competitive if we continue to waste valuable resources. The problems aren’t just in corporate America, but in nearly every kind of institution that exists on American soil. At Syracuse University, where I am currently employed, there are academic departments that have never hired or tenured an African American in nearly 100 years of operating history. What’s most amazing to me is that there are allegedly highly-trained scholars who’ve convinced themselves that these outcomes exist because black people are simply less-qualified than whites or that we don’t want the jobs. These conclusions are, quite simply, an insult to our intelligence.
In a recent Your Black World Survey, it was determined that nearly 90% of African Americans feel that they’ve experienced some form of workplace racial discrimination. Therefore, the problem is pervasive and debilitating to millions in the “angry black middle class” who’ve worked hard, paid their dues and still watch their opportunities go to the white guy down the hall. All the while, we are taught to believe that black people don’t get the same opportunities because we choose to be lazy.
Well, it’s time to put an end to Americanized apartheid, whether it be in corporations, universities, the media or the educational system. The federal government should make it easier for people of color to sue their workplace in the event of racial discrimination in the same way the Obama Administration helped clear the path for gender equity. Also, those of us who are on the insides of such racially-biased institutions should take notes on the diversity statistics and demand some degree of accountability. Similar to the Freedom Riders who confronted racism 50 years ago, African Americans today have an obligation to take on institutions and leadership who’ve proven time and time again that racial and gender equity is at the bottom of their priority list.
The word “diversity” should only be allowed to be used by institutions that can provide clear documentation asserting their commitment. It’s time to stop allowing “diversity” to be used as a feel-good buzzword for those who could care less about true equality. The most patriotic thing we can do is take a stand on this issue, put the leadership’s feet to the fire and stop accepting our status as second-class citizens in America.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
