As we’ve seen in 2020, diversity and inclusion tactics are more important than ever and including them in your hiring process will not only offer opportunities to people of all walks of life, but bring new perspectives to your organization.

Changing these statistics are just the first of many steps to creating solutions to systemic inequalities. 

Having what Dialogue on Race Louisiana President and CEO Maxine Crump calls “shared definitions” is the key to fostering genuine and solution-oriented conversations.

For associations, now is a perfect time to take a step back, analyze policies and bylaws and make changes to those that protect — or even promote — inequality.

In a 2015 TEDx Talk at Virginia Tech, Reed said individuals are not born prejudiced — they learn bias somewhere along the way. So in trying to fix America’s racism problem, starting with individuals is starting in the wrong place.

With the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many more, staying silent on these acts is no longer an option. Racism, diversity, bias and systematic oppression are topics that should be discussed openly in all environments.