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The content of character: I can’t get to know a person by his/her character if his/her color, sex, class, or sexuality is a barrier. Some people love quoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said, I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Those same people barely and rarely interact with Black people or people different from them. Why can’t those people see that the very thing they want me get over is the same thing they use against me? King could speak those words about color and character because he was on the side of the oppressed- he didn’t have the power to systematically mistreat or discriminate against anyone. But those who do have the power to discriminate do not see DEI as an opportunity to build relationships with people who differ from them. They do not see DEI as an asset to a better America. King also spoke about the “table of brotherhood.” The table is set. The chairs are in place. The food is ready. But if those in power can’t see past color as a means to keep me subjugated, I will never sit. King wanted that, and I am open to the possibility, but do those who have political and economic power really want it? 

Langston Hughes words in “I, Too” is absolutely timely. He wrote: 

“I too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.”

For me, I keep waiting for repentance. I wait for them to be ashamed. And honestly, I doubt it will ever happen. You miss the opportunity to know me by ignoring diversity, equity, and inclusion. When you don’t take the time to see into me, you can’t know me by my character. My character is who I really am. My character is my real true self. And acting the way you do, exclusionary and in a white world, is your character – the real authentic you.