Dear (Employer Name)

I noted with interest your comments on Diversity in your recent monthly message, and your invitation to submit views. It is clearly an important subject and one that’s receiving an increasing amount of attention, so I’m glad you’re seeking input on what it should mean for us as an organisation …

Dear <Name>,

I’m writing to you about the mandatory unconscious bias training we’ve been asked to complete. I am of course committed to equality of opportunity and fairness in the workplace. I firmly reject bigotry of all kinds and welcome the company taking steps to reduce bias in our recruiting practices by allowing anonymous applications. This is an effective, practical approach to combating bias in recruitment, and acts on the evidence of many well verified studies. …

Dear President,

I have received several emails in the past few weeks about Division of Inclusion Excellence’s (DEI) recent events such as “Dismantling the Effects of Systemic Racism by Creating Inclusive Spaces for Recovery” and “Actors, Allies, and Accomplices & Disruption”. Of particular note, I received an email from the Faculty Senate regarding two memo initiatives that are hoped to be passed regarding anti-racism, equity, white supremacy, and systemic racism. …

Dear [Employer],

I am writing to you with a concern regarding a shift in policy here at @businessname@.

I have recently been informed that there has been a change in company policy[1] which would require all employees to include preferred pronouns whenever they identify themselves. I understand that this change would require employees to list preferred pronouns in email signatures, business cards and to mention them when first being introduced to their colleagues. …

After the tragic death of George Floyd, many people are working to tackle issues around racial equity and justice. As part of this endeavor, many groups have created a 21-day Racial Equity Reading Challenge. The idea is that it takes 21 days to change a habit, so taking time every day to better understand racial justice issues will assist our progress towards a more equitable society.

We agree. We stand firm behind racial unity and justice. The problem we see is that so many of these reading lists lump black American thought into a homogeneous mass, failing to encompass alternative voices that are contrarian to the current racial dogma. We have taken the ABA Racial Challenge, modifying it slightly to include a day to review issues in law enforcement, and have provided supplemental readings/videos/podcasts from other prominent black voices (among a few others) for each day. We believe that the only way to really achieve racial unity and justice is through having genuine and uncomfortable discussions around a variety of views, engaging in Critical Thought missing in Critical Race Theory, that moves us past empty slogans to arrive at real solutions… together.

The 1619 Project, while being accused of some historically fallacious claims, created a groundswell of conversation in the United States. In fact, the response was so monumental that many schools began to use the 1619 Project in their curriculum. This adds a necessary richness to American classrooms where too often the voices and experiences of black Americans, who were instrumental in helping to shape and define America’s place in history, have often been downplayed or even ignored. We welcome the new discussion and hope that it continues. The danger we see in using only the 1619 Project as a guide to race relations and black American history is that it drowns out some of the voices of black resilience, strength and true heroism. Much of the 1619 Project focuses on oppression and grievance as the collective voice of the black American experience. This alternative reading guide takes the Pulitzer Center’s guide and adds an additional reading to each 1619 Project essay for a more complete picture of the black American experience and contribution to American society. We encourage all classrooms using the 1619 Project to consider adding these or other supplemental readings to expand their curriculum, promote robust dialogue and discussion, and add further dimension to the nuance and complexity of the building of America.