Okay, now I’ve said it, so what’s next? Traditional diversity trainings and rules of political correctness dictate you should suppress that instinct to notice race or be declared a racist. The fact is that categorization is an innate survival response dating back to the era of the hunter/gatherer: Edible, non-edible? Male-female? Friend-foe? Rather than suppress the instinct to label, what happens if you acknowledge it, even embrace it as the doorway to moving beyond it and onto the path of true intercultural appreciation?
Particularly in the case of the impending election, the US is involved in two wars, we have a disastrous economy, and we face a natural environment in peril. It’s not that we are colorblind and race doesn’t matter, it’s that mere blackness or whiteness alone won’t solve these problems. Experience, intelligence, strategy, networks of experts, researched positions on important issues and empathy for multiple perspectives will help. To think that all African Americans will vote for Obama simply because he is black or that all women will automatically support the McCain-Palin ticket is counter-intuitive and is not supported by the overall numbers in the polls.
My guess is that if you listen to your sub-conscious voice you label every person you meet or pass on the street. If you try to suppress it, you may find yourself thinking “he has an accent. He’s Hispanic. I’m not supposed to notice he’s Hispanic. What if I slip up and tell him he’s Hispanic and I have nothing in common with Hispanic people and oh my goodness this is too hard and how can I disengage from this conversation?” While you sit there getting nervous and beginning to sweat, it seems a lot easier to simply acknowledge your label, give it a little smile and then set it aside, so you can really listen and participate in your interaction. Certainly for marketers wanting to know more about what a particular ethnic group is looking for in a product-they listen. They ask questions. They say “ah-ha, what a great idea, I wouldn’t have thought of that, I’m so glad I engaged with you.”
This election has prompted more Americans to talk about race, and that is a gift. But for diversity training, multicultural marketing and intercultural communications to have long lasting, meaningful impact, they need to be built on the tenets of anti-racism: a striving for equality, civil rights, and an acknowledgement/dismantling of majority advantage (aka White privilege.) Remembering a list of “do’s and don’t’s” might effect public behavior for the short term, but it is practice in daily life, both outside and inside the home (take that, Bradley Effect!), that leads to lasting change.
So temporarily turn off the valve from mind to mouth and silently shout “Hello Mr. White Man,” “Hello, Mr. Black Man, or “Hello, Ms. Asian Woman of unknown national origin” on your next encounter, and then immediately follow it with “he/she may bring a different perspective from my own, I better listen more closely.”
Sunday I was searching for sites related to Marketing and specifically intercultural issues in marketing and I found your site.
I AM SO TIRED OF THIE RACE ISSUE. FIRST, WHO LABEL US AS BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICANS? WE AS A PEOPLE STILL HAVE NO VOICE, OR SOME DO NOT WANT A VOICE, OF WHAT WE SHOULD BE CALLED. WE HAVE MANY DIFFERENT HERITAGES IN OUR BACKGROUND, WHY ARE WE LABEL AS AFRICAN AMERCIAN. MY HERITAGE CONSISTS OF CREOLE, FRENCH, IRISH, ENGLISH AND INDIAN. I DO NOT FILLED OUT 1 RACE ON AN APPLICATION, NOT ME. WE WENT FROM THE N-WORD TO NEGRO, BLACK, NOW AFRICAN AMERICAN, WHAT IS THIS ABOUT. MY HERITAGE ON THE AFRICAN AMERICAN IS HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS YEARS AGO. WE ARE MANY DIFFERENT RACES, SOME PEOPLE ARE FINE WILL THIS LABE, NOT ME, I REFUSE TO BE PUT IN A CATEGORY OF ONE RACE. FOR THOSE WHO AGREED WITH ME. WHAT AND WHERE SHOULD WE DO, AND HOQ SHOUL WE CHANGE THIS, REMEMBER, AS OBAMA, STATED ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE, AND STOP ACCEPTING WHAT THE GOVERNMENT, OT OTHER SO CALL AFRICAN AMERCANS LEADERS PUT A NAME TAG ON US. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THIS ANY LONGER. IF YOU NOTICE CREOLES, IN LOUSIANA, ARE NOW BEING CALLED LOUISIANA, FRENCH. MY ANCESTORS CAME OVER FROM ENGLAND, AND NOVA SCOTIA, THEY ARE FRENCH, NOW THAT THEY HAVE MIXED WITH BLACK PEOPLE, THE NAME HAS CHANGE. REFUSE TO STAY IN THE PSYCOLOGICAL BOX.
Thanks so much for visiting. Ideally, we evolve to a stage where labels aren’t used–and certainly urban anthropology promotes “first voice,” the idea that, as you have said, you define your own identity. So, as your are doing, it’s important to refuse to be put in a psychological box, but those ‘doing the boxing’ need to be aware that they are doing this, to stop the habit.