Michigan Chronicle
Black Lives Matter
Vol. 85 – No. 25 | Feb. 23 - March 1, 2022
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Equality or Equity:
Which Is Better? The concepts aren’t the same and don’t bring Black people the same result.
By Hiram E. Jackson Black people, as well as whites, have struggled for years with dual concepts requiring vastly different approaches for social justice: equality and equity. I recently heard a heralded, longtime activist admit that while we’ve fought fiercely for equality — believing it would right the wrongs of racism and discrimination in one fell swoop — the thinking was that equity would be a natural outcome of the battle. He went on to say that a twopronged approach would have been more effective in achieving the goals of social justice and economic equity.
Hiram E. Jackson
The truth is equality and equity are not the same, and in practice, they are not even that close. Equality means each individual or group receives the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person or group has different circumstances and allocates the resources and opportunities accordingly, so everyone reaches an equal outcome. As Paula Dressel of the Race Matters Institute put it, “The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone justly according to their circumstances.” For example, in a country where all children of school age are eligible to attend schools of their choosing and Black workers can apply for the same jobs as whites, and get them, white families are more than eight times better off than Black families. So economic equity is a tangible concept in which resources and assets are distributed to balance economies. When that happens, all a society’s participants get a fair share of the wealth, and no one person or group is burdened any more than another. That is obviously not the case in America. Black people, on average, had 22 cents for every dollar of white family wealth, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve’s Institute for Economic Equity. These substantial gaps have remained unchanged since 1989, according to the Institute. Families of color and minority-owned businesses, which have always been at the back of the finance and lending line, have suffered for many decades to survive. People of color have traditionally been locked out of the economic process. Their efforts to participate in the economic process are still regularly thwarted, prohibiting them from getting a fair share of household and commercial wealth. Families of color and minority-owned businesses, which have always been at the back of the finance and lending line, have suffered for many decades to survive. The pandemic not only helped to exacerbate their struggle for equity, but it also put a
See EQUALITY
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion MATTERS! By Sherri Kolade
T
his two-part series on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) covers the background of DEI, its forerunner, Affirmative Action, and the causes for and against these programs that some consider sometimes helpful, or hurtful, to the Black experience. Part two delves into Black women and DEI works that cater to this segment of the population. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Many companies say that these aren’t just buzzwords in the postGeorge Floyd era to ease the racial Stephen Dorsey tensions felt by Black people who make up 15 million (or 12 percent) of the 125 million U.S. private-sector workforce. Or are they just some filler words with no substantial backing when it comes to promoting better working conditions for Black people and other minorities? Depending on who you ask, experts in the DEI space and companies leading these conversations have very strong opinions on why DEI is a noteworthy cause and not just more HR-style lip service. With some major strides resulting from Affirmative Action policies (now in place for decades) working their way through the DEI pipeline, shouldn’t equity and racial justice already be an established notion on and off the job? If so, why then would so many Black people leading the cause of the Black Lives Matter movement still have to shout that indeed, “Black Lives Matter?” Mary Mbiya, director of Diversity & Inclusion at Flagstar Bank, told the Michigan Chronicle that DEI work is important work at the organization now more than ever, especially after the death of George Floyd.
Mary Mbiya
slates of candidates during the interview process at the high-band levels and review our talent demographics quarterly. Also, all our recruiters have been trained in diversity recruiting. And to help employees advance in their jobs, we piloted mentoring circles last year where employees go through a six-month mentorship program, and we track their career for two and a half years. Over 40 percent of the participants represented ethnic groups. And because diversity in the workplace is so key, it’s a journey we don’t see ever ending.” Kalani Ture, a senior fellow at Yale University’s Urban Ethnography Project, assistant professor at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland and assistant professor of criminal justice in anthropology at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, sees DEI a bit differently. “If DEI is the band-aid used to cover the old and wornout suture of Affirmative Action, then part of the solution means that we must take off the bandage and expose the unhealed wounds,” Ture said. “I only sadly predict that suture will be torn off by the desperate and our Democracy will be scarred even more.” No matter which side of the aisle one stands on the pros and cons of DEI, one thing is for certain, a turning point in the DEI conversation took place after Floyd, an unarmed Black man, was killed by a white police of-
“The murder of George Floyd was a game-changer for Flagstar because it marked a new level of engagement with our employees,” Mbiya said, adding that diverse talent acquisition is one of the pillars of Flagstar’s DEI strategy. “We’ve made progress here. For example, we require diverse
See DIVERSITY page A2
OR EQUITY page A2
WHAT’S INSIDE
The Current State of Black Lives By Megan Kirk
Don’t Touch
My Hair
Black Culture Matters
Page B1
$1.00
Kalani Ture
Edith Lee-Payne poses with her iconic photo from the March on Washington. Photo listed in The National Archive Museum
Detroit’s stake in social justice is as rich as any southern city in America. From its roots in the Underground Railroad to the 1967 riots, Detroit history is full of stories in the fight for social justice. In recent years, millennial organizations have formed to continue the legacy and the push for racial justice in the city and beyond. As we look back, we can measure how far the movement has come and how much further we have to go. Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown -- these names are just a few of those who have sparked national outrage in Black communities. With very public cases, America got a front row seat into the complexities of race, police relations and overzealous vigilantes. Most recently, the murder of George Floyd was
the catalyst that ignited African Americans in the city and in many cities across the country, to stand up and help put an end to murder at the hands of police officers. However, the fight for reform started long before George Floyd and continues after his death. Edith Lee-Payne has been an advocate and activist for social and racial justice, education, police and community relations and other pressing matters for decades. Etched in history, Lee-Payne became a staple in the fight for justice in August 1963 when she was photographed during the March on Washington as a young girl. Together with her mother, Lee-Payne learned activism early and continues to make her mark on her community. “I have always had a passion or a desire to stand up for things as a very small
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LIVES page A2