Everest
I planned to write on a different aspect of Diversity this week. I think it is important to tackle this subject from several different angles. Diversity within an ethnic group was this week’s topic. I wanted to explore how much and how little someone’s ethnic background tells you about them. I had an easy set up after talking with Ivy. She works at the fish shop I frequent.
I suppose she could set her watch by me. Every Wednesday at 12:15 I walk through the door to buy lunch. Every week she says whiting dinner when I walk in. She knows my order. We laugh about it sometimes.
Some days I greet her in Vietnamese, some days in English. We laughed a couple of weeks ago when I told her how I greeted a group of Vietnamese women in Vietnamese. She was ecstatic to hear their reaction since she taught me how to say hello in Vietnamese. She is my buddy. And the difference that separates us the most is not our ethnic background. It is our ages. She looks to be in her early twenties, and I am; let’s say sixty-four, because I am.
My students say I act like I’m in my twenties-whatever.
Our conversation this week was about her Mickey Mouse Tee Shirt. She told me she liked Mickey. She tends to be very serious, so I decided to have some fun. When I got ready to leave, I sang her The Mickey Mouse song. She didn’t recognize it as I butchered M-I-C-K until somewhere in the word mouse she understood what I was doing and cracked up.
I wanted to make the point how different her personality is from Tan or Dao or Vi or some of the other Vietnamese immigrants I’ve met living on the south end of Atlanta. I’ll talk about them later.
I ran into an article this week about the debt mainstream colleges owe HBCUs, because of the legacy of slavery. I’m sure the author meant well. He writes for The Atlantic and I suppose to keep your position there you must subscribe to the belief Black people’s circumstances in America are so dire they can only be resolved through reparations.
People hear reparations and think justice. I hear reparations and think race war. It would be a war for a lost cause.
I will die on that hill some other Sunday.
Anyway, gentle reader, the rabbit hole beckons. Here we go.
George Leigh Mallory responded when asked why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest because it is there. In his book Into Thin Air John Krakauer notes the summit of the world’s tallest mountain is the same as the cruising altitude of a 747. Everest is the mountain Mallory chose to die on. His remains still lie on its North Face 800 meters from the top.
In my mind’s eye I see Diversity as a mountain. Mount Diversity I call it. And so many Americans wish to scale its heights because it is there.
Why?
To be sure it has it appeal. It’s the tallest mountain in the range of American possibility. At its base it incites the senses with its stunning cornucopia of colors. Yellows, browns, red, and greens populate Diversity’s lowest elements. It appears anyone can scale these heights. I’m sure Everest appears the same.
Yet the higher you climb the whiter Diversity becomes until at its snowcapped summit almost no color breaks up the monotony of white seen at the top. Yet Black people insist on the right to climb it because it is there.
Why?
Like Everest Diversity is a much easier climb these days. When George Mallory died on the mountain’s north face communication and oxygen systems were primitive. Summiting wasn’t in the cards. Years ago, summiting major mainstream organizations was an impossibility for minorities in America. Over time the task has grown easier, but it remains an exacting task.
There is a point on Everest where you enter what is known as the death zone. Even with modern communications and oxygen systems people die on the mountain’s north face. Rigs have been put into place to help you complete the climb. Yet a substantial number of climbers die on the north face. Few would even attempt a summit from any other approach.
On Diversity there is a career death zone where many suffer George Mallory’s fate even in the 21st century. Rigs like affirmative action and equity may make the climb easier. The climb remains all but impossible. Sure a few reach the summit. I am sure Everest has some exposed black rock amidst its notorious snow fields.
But once again I ask why? I forget because it is there.
Why do women subject themselves to the climb on Diversity’s north face? Why not find a less daunting climb. Women owned and operated businesses is a thought.
Why do East Asians set out to climb Diversity? Are they not familiar with the bamboo ceiling? Have they not been warned about the career death zone? To be sure South Asians have figured out how to summit consistently. They are the exception that proves the rule true.
And my kind. Because it is there is not a good reason to make the climb. Not only is it a long, difficult, and dangerous ascent such attempts have denied our own hills valuable climbing talent and resources.
Black people had the advantage coming out of The Civil Rights Movement of having our own organizations in place. Had we ignored Diversity and sought to summit our own hills and mountains we would have been better off, and our organizations would have been better off. Why waste time and energy code switching? Focus your climb on what is ours.
Of course, you need oxygen to summit Diversity. Black culture doesn’t prepare you for it. You can do it, but why breathe through a mask. Focus your energy on what is the more natural climb.
Black institutions.
And yes, Black institutions offer their own challenges.
But why not?
Or better yet create your own.
Ask Barry Gordy how that worked. Ask anyone who knew HJ Russell if scaling the heights with a rig you built, and trust isn’t the proper path. Ask the heirs of A.G. Gadsden if your own rig is the way to summit.
Professional climbers know the most challenging summit in The Himalayas is not Everest. That would be the second tallest mountain in the world-K-2. We should summit our own versions of K-2?
Because it is there.
And because of the greater satisfaction that would come from conquering a greater challenge. We don’t just need Diversity within organizations. We need diversity of organizations. Then people can choose the climb most appropriate for their needs.
All climbs to the top require effort and sacrifice. Some require more than others.
K-2 anyone?
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