James D. White

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">Idea in Brief</h4>
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  <h5>The Impetus</h5>
  <p>Following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and too many others, and the wave of protests that ensued, executives across America have an urgent mandate to combat systemic racism and bring full diversity and inclusion to the organizations they lead.</p>
  <h5>The Opportunity</h5>
  <p>As businesses rebound from pandemic-related disruptions, leaders have a brief window in which to reimagine how they approach the workforce.</p>
  <h5>The Steps to Take</h5>
  <p>Leaders should embark on a listening tour across their organizations. They can then seek the support of senior executives, audit the culture, document what’s already happening to advance diversity and inclusion, and establish ways to measure progress. Finally, they should form “action learning teams” and develop and communicate an action plan.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p>On April 14, 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. made a powerful observation in a speech titled “The Other America,” addressing the racially charged violence then sweeping the nation’s cities. “A riot is the language of the unheard,” he said, and he challenged his audience to think hard on the question “What is it that America has failed to hear?”</p>

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<p>As a Black man with three decades of experience in the corporate world, the author has a deep understanding of how to conceive and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas from the top down. Following the 2020 murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, he was approached by numerous executives who wanted to act to combat systemic racism and sought his advice on how to proceed. So White and his daughter Krista wrote the book <span class="mediatitle">Anti-Racist Leadership</span> to share what he has learned.</p>
<p>In this article, adapted from the book, White provides guidance for getting started. Leaders should listen to and learn from colleagues across the organization, enlist senior executives in the cause, audit the culture, and document what their companies are already doing to foster diversity and inclusion. They should then establish benchmarks for measuring progress, build &#8220;action learning teams&#8221; to spearhead the effort, and develop and communicate an overall plan.</p>
<p>As the world goes into economic recovery mode, leaders have a brief window in which to reimagine their approach to the workforce. This article can help them seize the opportunity and bring fully inclusive cultures to the organizations they run.</p>

How to Build an Anti-Racist Company

As a Black man with three decades of experience in the corporate world, the author has a deep understanding of how to conceive and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion agendas from the top down. Following the 2020 murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, he was approached by numerous executives who wanted to act to combat systemic racism and sought his advice on how to proceed. So White and his daughter Krista wrote the book Anti-Racist Leadership to share what he has learned. In this article, adapted from the book, White provides guidance for getting started. Leaders should listen to and learn from colleagues across the organization, enlist senior executives in the cause, audit the culture, and document what their companies are already doing to foster diversity and inclusion. They should then establish benchmarks for measuring progress, build “action learning teams” to spearhead the effort, and develop and communicate an overall plan. As the world goes into economic recovery mode, leaders have a brief window in which to reimagine their approach to the workforce. This article can help them seize the opportunity and bring fully inclusive cultures to the organizations they run.

How to Build an Anti-Racist Company

Summary.

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