Diversity
Every person in our business community should feel they can bring their whole selves to the place where they serve.
Prejudice and privilege exist in Richardson. Our hope is that, in awareness, we can improve and set an example for our business community.
We want more Black business owners and diverse business leaders in Richardson.
Our committees need black voices. We can’t create a solution, when we don’t know what it’s like to live the problem.
Richardson is the International Business Capital of Texas, as designated by the Texas Legislature. We welcome those from other countries with open arms. We want to assure our Asian citizens and businesses how much we appreciate your contributions to our Richardson community. Coronavirus blame is unacceptable within our borders. We also celebrate our Muslim community, who too often has been maligned with stereotypes of radicals when in fact they are peaceful and family oriented.
Prejudice based on color, gender, age, sexual orientation, nationality, special needs, social standing and religion is something we must fight daily, even within ourselves.
We encourage you to talk about race. Encourage your employees to talk about race. Share stories and life experiences. This is no longer a taboo subject, but one that needs air to understand and cleanse. Don’t wait for the oppressed to bring it up. Create safe places for sharing.
Increase your personal awareness and understanding.
Books
- We Can’t Breathe: On Black Lives, White Lies and the Art of Survival by Jabari Asim
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
- White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
- A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
- They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South by Stephanie E. Jones-Rogers
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Manchild In the Promised Land by Claude Brown
- The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
- Where Do We Go From Here by Martin Luther King
Articles
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack
- Why You Should Speak Up Even When It’s Not Easy by Kevin Daum
- Three Things You Can Do Now to Take Action as an Ally in the Workplace by Katie Burke
- What Your Black Employees and Customers Need to Hear by Jade and Noelle Johnson
- Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge Op-Ed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Working on hard mode: Being Black in Corporate America by Zach Stubblefield
- How to Talk to Your Kids about Racism by CPINDEA from PBS
- Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay – Chances Are They’re Not by Danielle Cade
Watch
- I Am Not Your Negro – A documentary of James Baldwin’s story about race in modern America (available on Apple iTunes, or Amazon Prime)
- When They See Us – The story of 5 teenaged boys falsely accused of rape in Central Park (available on Netflix)
- Jane Elliott’s Anti-racism Experiment – A Class Divided (PBS Frontline)
- TED Talk: Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable by Luvvie Adjayi
- TEDx Talk: Let’s get to the root of racial injustice by Megan Ming Francis
- Free movies about racial injustice curated by The Verge
- Curated list of streaming movies about racism by USA Today
- Curated list of films by NPR
- The Hate You Give - A novel by Angie Thomas made into a feature-length movie directed by George Tillman Jr.
Podcast
- Into an American Uprising: White Accountability by Into America
- Legacies of Pain and Resilience: Clinical Implications for Understanding Historical Trauma and Race Webinar
- Race Matters: Webinar Series by Korn Ferry
- Addressing Historical Trauma Podcast
- Raising our Black Sons: Perspectives from Mothers Black Boys and Men Podcast
- Police Brutality & Trauma Black Boys and Men Podcast
Training
- Google's course on Unbiasing
- Project READY training on implicit bias and microagressions
- The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond Undoing Racism Conference
- Facebook's Managing Unconscious Bias Training
- Forbes: How to Create Effective Online Diversity Trainings
Events
- Juneteenth Freedom Celebration Dallas 6/20
- UTDallas Juneteenth Celebration 6/15-19
- Other Texas rallies