QUESTIONING ‘QUALIFICATIONS’
Black Troublemaker or
Honest Broker?
Here’s some of the passionate feedback we received on DiversityInc CEO
Luke Visconti’s response to an Ask the White Guy question regarding
why leadership gets upset when Blacks question hiring and promotion
decisions for people who are less qualified.
Original article:
www.DiversityInc.com/troublemaker
Luke, this is great and captures a lot of what people are al- ways afraid to say and have to walk around with every day. I hope that this article will encourage people who don’t want
to be labeled “troublemakers” to do one of two things:
Bring up concerns in a way that doesn’t come off as an attack on
management’s ingrained core beliefs (improving their communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal).
Get the courage to get up and begin looking for a place where the
need for these types of conversations are few and far between.
Carolynn Johnson, COO of DiversityInc
before they ever approached the
opportunity. Mike Reese
Well-written article! It took this “troublemaker” in a
hostile environment a long time
(I’m at the end of my career) to
fully understand some of the
perceptions that you expressed. I
questioned my own abilities and
competencies because I did not
think that leadership in a government agency would consistently
resist diversification for promotional opportunities but act as
though they are doing nothing
wrong …Valerie Walker
Being a person of color, I think
about race all the time and filter
things through the race prism.
However, I pick my battles carefully and word my challenges so
as not to affront [but] to question
reasonably to get the conversation
started. Evelyn Miller
I’m wrapping up my bachelor’s degree [and was surprised]
how many white students in the
class had never heard about or
considered their “white privilege.”
Being a Latina who lived in Texas
and Kentucky, I can tell you that
white privilege is something all
non-whites have to live and deal
with daily, in varying forms and
degrees, often from surprising
sources. My recommendation is
not to take offense when white
privilege is mentioned. Education
and awareness are the first steps
toward understanding what this
is and how it impacts everyone.
Esther Munoz
Regrettably, in the face of too few jobs for so many people,
I think more people of color will
suffer in silence for fear of losing
what little they have already, particularly in terms of employment.
One always risks being labeled a
troublemaker or high maintenance
if they challenge the status quo.
Excellent article. So many people fail to recognize that it’s
the underpinnings of the system
that set up the outcome before
you ever go in the door to discuss
a promotion. I often think about
how we rely on sending people to
an exclusive business school in my
company, and how the cost of that
university all but excludes it from
many minority candidates. Then
if you point out that “Applicant
X” has a robust business degree
from University Y, the culture was
stacked against many applicants
Mr. Visconti explores and explains a difficult issue very
well, and reading it is like receiv-
ing a breath of fresh air. It gets to
the heart of a very difficult problem
and offers ideas regarding solv-
ing the problem. The solution will
not arrive tomorrow but will not
arrive at all unless those of us who
can do so make a commitment to
understand the issues and work
at solutions. Leadership must be
made aware and helped to under-
stand, care and lead.
John F. Merchant
CONTACT US We welcome your comments. Letters must include your name and, if applicable, company
affiliation and title. Email letters to editor@DiversityInc.com. We reserve the right to edit all submissions.
