Maybe We Should've Stayed Segregated?

This is not click bait. This is not sensationalism. This was something I heard from a college president at a Historically Black College in North Carolina...And the story goes like this..

I was invited to speak at the President’s dinner at a small HBCU in North Carolina recently.

It was exciting for me because though I've spoken at hundreds of colleges throughout my career and there are over 100 Historically Black Colleges & Universities in America, I don't get invited to speak at a lot of HBCUs (that's another story for another day)...

And also on those rare occasions I was usually relegated to speaking to maybe 10 people, but this time I was going to be speaking right after the President of the college to a packed house!

There was about 30 minutes before the event was set to start and the event planner said she wanted to introduce me to the President. He was a distinguished looking man who looked to be in his late 60s, he shook my hand, and we sat down for a brief chat that would change my perspective forever.

Usually when I meet older black people I ask them how old they were when Dr. King was assassinated. The President said he was around 19 and he remembered it vividly.

I wasn’t prepared for what he said next. 

“I think the biggest mistake that was made in the Civil Rights era was that black people demanded to be integrated instead of demanding that more economic resources be put in our communities. As a people we were better off segregated. Maybe we should've stayed segregated," then he paused as if he was having a realization he had nevre had before, then he continued, "I think we should explore a different type of community organizing to make segregation happen for us in a good way.”

I didn’t know what to say. Frankly, I was shocked. But not because he thought those thoughts, because many of my older family members have said things like that since I was a child. But I was shocked because he said them out loud to me!

I get invited to speak on diversity, equity, and inclusion not because I'm a DEI expert, but because I share a different perspective on DEI. In my not so humble opinion one of America's biggest problems is communication. So if you think about his statement, he's not wrong. Integration destroyed a lot of black owned businesses and the identities of black people all over the world.

Furthermore, we may not be legally segregated anymore, but we voluntarily congregate all the time. On certain days of worship people congregate at churches, mosques, synagogues, and temples. For sports events, people congregate to cheer for their favorite team. And the list goes on.

But let's steer this conversation back to how it can be helpful and instructive. I'm not going to ask you if you agree with the statement about integration being a mistake.

Here's my question: What congregations can we encourage to help our work environments be more profitable and safe? What have you found works for your company? Put your answer in the comments.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Odell Bizzell II is a communication expert that works with organizations that want to teach their leaders the skills necessary to thrive in a diverse ever changing workforce. He gives inspirational presentations all across the country. His presentations are described as: “Motivational conversations you have with a friend or a cool uncle.” He’s also a prolific author of books and articles like the one you just read. His proudest professional accomplishment was he was voted the 85th funniest person in North Carolina back in 2008. You can hire him to speak at your company or organization by visiting www.OdellSpeaks.com.