Color blind or color brave? | Mellody Hobson

Summary

In this compelling speech, Mellody Hobson shares her personal experiences with racial discrimination and the importance of addressing race in America. She emphasizes the need to be 'color brave' rather than 'color blind,' advocating for proactive conversations about race to foster diversity and inclusion. Hobson, a successful black woman and chair of a Fortune 500 company, highlights the significant disparities in wealth, income, and opportunities faced by minorities. She encourages individuals and businesses to embrace diversity, citing research that shows diverse groups are better at solving complex problems and the example of ESPN's CEO, who champions diversity to build a more valuable company.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker, Mellody Hobson, shares a personal anecdote about being mistaken for kitchen help at a media company, highlighting the subtle and overt racism she has faced.
• 👶 Mellody's mother taught her about racial realities from a young age, instilling a sense of resilience and awareness about how she might be treated differently because of her race.
• 🔢 Despite societal progress, racial disparities persist in areas such as household wealth, income, job opportunities, and healthcare, indicating that racial discrimination is not a thing of the past.
• 🏢 The business world reflects these disparities, with white men holding a disproportionate number of corporate board seats and leadership positions in comparison to their population size.
• 🤔 Mellody challenges the notion of 'color blindness' as a solution to racial discrimination, arguing that it ignores the problem rather than addressing it.
• 💡 She advocates for 'color bravery', encouraging proactive and honest conversations about race to foster understanding and equality.
• 🏊 Mellody uses a swimming analogy to illustrate the importance of becoming comfortable with discomfort, relating it to the need to engage in difficult conversations about race.
• 👥 The benefits of diversity extend to problem-solving and innovation, with diverse groups being more effective at tackling complex challenges.
• 🏆 John Skipper, the head of ESPN, is highlighted as an example of a leader who actively promotes diversity and sees it as a key to success.
• 🌟 Mellody's own company, Ariel Investments, views diversity as a competitive advantage, reflecting a broader understanding that different perspectives enhance business outcomes.
• 👶👧 Mellody emphasizes the importance of role modeling for the next generation, encouraging them to dream big and believe in their potential to achieve success regardless of their background.

Q & A

What was the embarrassing situation Mellody Hobson and Harold Ford faced during their visit to a New York media company?

Mellody Hobson and Harold Ford were mistakenly directed to a kitchen instead of an editorial board lunch because they were assumed to be catering staff due to their race.

What did Mellody Hobson's mother teach her about race at a young age?

Mellody Hobson's mother taught her to be aware of racial discrimination and that she might not always be treated well because of her race.

Why did Mellody Hobson decide to talk about race despite the risks?

Mellody Hobson decided to talk about race because she believes that acknowledging the problem is the first step to solving it and that awareness is the first step to any form of action.

What is Mellody Hobson's profession and what is her view on racial disparities in the corporate world?

Mellody Hobson is the chairwoman of Ariel Investments and she believes that there are significant, quantifiable racial disparities in corporate America that cannot be ignored.

What is the term used to describe the behavior of pretending not to notice race?

The term used to describe this behavior is 'color blindness'.

How does Mellody Hobson define 'color blindness' and why does she find it dangerous?

Mellody Hobson defines 'color blindness' as ignoring the problem of racial discrimination and finds it dangerous because it does not ensure fairness and leads to the perpetuation of existing racial disparities.

What is Mellody Hobson's stance on the importance of diversity in corporate America?

Mellody Hobson believes that diversity is a competitive advantage and that embracing it can lead to better businesses, products, and research.

How does Mellody Hobson suggest we approach conversations about race?

Mellody Hobson suggests that we should be 'color brave', meaning we should have proactive conversations about race with honesty, understanding, and courage.

What example does Mellody Hobson give of a company that has embraced diversity?

Mellody Hobson cites ESPN and its president John Skipper as an example of a company that has embraced diversity by demanding a diverse slate of candidates for every open position.

What is the concept of 'color bravery' and why is it important according to Mellody Hobson?

'Color bravery' is the idea of being willing to have proactive conversations about race. It is important because it fosters diversity which leads to better outcomes in various fields such as business, science, and research.

What is Mellody Hobson's advice for individuals who want to contribute to diversity and inclusion?

Mellody Hobson advises individuals to observe their environment and invite people into their lives who are different from them, as this can lead to personal growth and new insights.

What was Mellody Hobson's mother's profession and how did it influence her life lessons?

Mellody Hobson's mother was in the real estate business and was a single mom with six kids. Her mother's hard work and resilience despite hardships taught Mellody the importance of never giving up hope.

What message does Mellody Hobson want to convey to the next generation?

Mellody Hobson wants the next generation to know that they can achieve the highest level they ever imagined and that they should be brave and believe in their dreams.

Outlines

00:00

😅 Embarrassing Encounter with Unspoken Racial Bias

The speaker recounts an incident from 2006 when she and her friend Harold Ford, running for U.S. Senate, mistakenly ended up in a kitchen instead of a boardroom for a lunch event due to an organizational oversight. This incident, although met with laughter, was not entirely surprising to her because of the realistic lessons her mother taught her about racial treatment in America. She emphasizes the uncomfortable nature of discussing race but argues that awareness and conversation are the first steps to addressing racial disparities evident in areas such as wealth, income, job opportunities, and corporate representation. The speaker challenges the audience's perceptions by questioning why an all-black boardroom would seem strange compared to the normalized image of a white male dominated one.

05:01

🚩 Advocating for Color Bravery Over Color Blindness

The speaker refutes the idea of color blindness as a solution to racial discrimination, arguing that it leads to ignoring the problem rather than addressing it. She shares her success story and the reality of corporate board diversity, pointing out the underrepresentation of minorities and women. The speaker advocates for 'color bravery,' encouraging proactive and honest conversations about race to foster better understanding and equality. She cites examples from ESPN and Ariel Investments to illustrate the benefits of embracing diversity and highlights the importance of role models for the next generation, urging the audience to observe their environments and actively include diverse individuals in their personal and professional lives.

10:01

🌟 Inspiring the Next Generation Through Courage and Representation

In the final paragraph, the speaker calls for courage and boldness in both business and society to ensure that no child is left behind and that every dream is possible. She shares her mother's story of resilience and pragmatism, which instilled in her a sense of hope and ambition. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being a role model and the impact it has on children's aspirations. She concludes by asking the audience to be color brave, to take a stand against racial discrimination, and to create a future where every child's potential is recognized and nurtured.

Keywords

💡Racial Discrimination

Racial discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of individuals based on their race or ethnicity. In the video, the speaker discusses the ongoing impact of racial discrimination in various areas such as household wealth, income, job opportunities, and healthcare. An example given is the disproportionate representation of white men in corporate board seats compared to their percentage of the U.S. population, illustrating the systemic nature of racial disparities.

💡Color Blindness

Color blindness, in the context of the video, is a term used to describe the practice of ignoring race, often with the intention of promoting equality. However, the speaker argues that color blindness is dangerous because it leads to the avoidance of discussions about race and does not address the underlying issues of discrimination. The speaker advocates for 'color bravery' instead, which involves acknowledging and confronting racial differences to foster true equality.

💡Representation

Representation in this video refers to the idea that individuals should be fairly and accurately depicted or included in various aspects of society, such as corporate leadership and media. The speaker points out the lack of diversity in corporate boards and leadership, using the statistic that only two out of thousands of publicly traded companies are chaired by black women, emphasizing the need for better representation across different sectors.

💡Corporate Board Diversity

Corporate board diversity is the presence of individuals from various racial, ethnic, and gender backgrounds within the decision-making bodies of corporations. The video highlights the lack of diversity in corporate boards, noting that white men, who make up only 30 percent of the U.S. population, hold 70 percent of all corporate board seats, indicating a significant disparity in representation.

💡Institutionalized Discrimination

Institutionalized discrimination is the systematic exclusion or disadvantage of certain groups by societal institutions, such as government or businesses. The speaker acknowledges the historical context of legalized discrimination in the U.S. and its lasting effects on current racial disparities, suggesting that while progress has been made, the legacy of such discrimination continues to impact the present.

💡Color Bravery

Color bravery, as introduced by the speaker, is the proactive approach to discussing and addressing racial issues openly and honestly. It involves being willing to have uncomfortable conversations about race and actively seeking diversity in various aspects of life. The speaker contrasts this with color blindness, arguing that being color brave is a more effective way to promote equality and challenge racial stereotypes.

💡Role Models

Role models are individuals who serve as examples for others to follow, often embodying values or achieving success that others aspire to. In the video, the speaker discusses the importance of being a role model for the next generation, showing them that they too can achieve success and that their dreams are possible, regardless of their race or background.

💡Diversity

Diversity in the video refers to the variety of racial, ethnic, cultural, and intellectual differences within a group or society. The speaker argues that embracing diversity is not just about recognizing the existence of these differences but actively valuing and leveraging them to create a more inclusive and successful environment. The video also mentions a study by Scott Page that highlights the benefits of diversity in problem-solving.

💡Inclusion

Inclusion is the act of involving and valuing all individuals, particularly those from different backgrounds, in a community or organization. The speaker praises ESPN for its culture of inclusion and diversity, where every open position requires a diverse slate of candidates, demonstrating that inclusion is not just about hiring minorities but about creating an environment where everyone can contribute.

💡Awareness

Awareness in this context refers to the recognition and understanding of racial issues and their impact on society. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being aware of racial disparities as the first step to solving any problem and taking action. Awareness is presented as a crucial component in the journey towards racial equality and understanding.

💡Opportunity

Opportunity in the video is the chance for individuals to achieve success and progress, regardless of their race or background. The speaker argues that racial discrimination threatens to rob future generations of opportunities and that being color brave can help ensure that all children have the chance to achieve their dreams and aspirations.

Highlights

Mellody Hobson recounts an embarrassing incident that highlights racial biases in professional settings.

Hobson emphasizes the importance of her mother's realistic and early teachings on racial treatment.

The speaker discusses the discomfort and avoidance that race discussions often bring in American society.

Hobson challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama ended racial discrimination.

She presents statistical evidence of racial disparities in corporate America.

Hobson uses a thought experiment to challenge perceptions of diversity in corporate boardrooms.

The speaker shares her personal experience of overcoming racial barriers in her career.

Hobson critiques the concept of 'color blindness' and its implications on addressing racial issues.

She advocates for proactive conversations about race in various societal roles.

Hobson highlights the benefits of diversity in problem-solving and innovation.

The speaker calls for bravery in addressing racial issues for the betterment of society and business.

Hobson shares a personal anecdote about learning to be comfortable with discomfort.

She discusses the importance of being 'color brave' for the next generation's opportunities.

The speaker recounts her mother's influence and the lessons of resilience and hope.

Hobson concludes with a call to action for courage and bravery in confronting racial issues for a better future.

Transcripts

So it's 2006.

My friend Harold Ford calls me.

He's running for U.S. Senate in Tennessee,

and he says, "Mellody, I desperately need some national press. Do you have any ideas?"

So I had an idea. I called a friend

who was in New York

at one of the most successful media companies in the world,

and she said, "Why don't we host

an editorial board lunch for Harold?

You come with him."

Harold and I arrive in New York.

We are in our best suits.

We look like shiny new pennies.

And we get to the receptionist, and we say,

"We're here for the lunch."

She motions for us to follow her.

We walk through a series of corridors,

and all of a sudden we find ourselves

in a stark room,

at which point she looks at us and she says,

"Where are your uniforms?"

Just as this happens,

my friend rushes in.

The blood drains from her face.

There are literally no words, right?

And I look at her, and I say,

"Now, don't you think we need

more than one black person in the U.S. Senate?"

Now Harold and I --

(Applause) —

we still laugh about that story,

and in many ways, the moment caught me off guard,

but deep, deep down inside,

I actually wasn't surprised.

And I wasn't surprised because of something

my mother taught me about 30 years before.

You see, my mother was ruthlessly realistic.

I remember one day coming home from a birthday party

where I was the only black kid invited,

and instead of asking me the normal motherly questions

like, "Did you have fun?" or "How was the cake?"

my mother looked at me and she said,

"How did they treat you?"

I was seven. I did not understand.

I mean, why would anyone treat me differently?

But she knew.

And she looked me right in the eye and she said,

"They will not always treat you well."

Now, race is one of those topics in America

that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable.

You bring it up at a dinner party

or in a workplace environment,

it is literally the conversational equivalent

of touching the third rail.

There is shock,

followed by a long silence.

And even coming here today,

I told some friends and colleagues

that I planned to talk about race,

and they warned me, they told me, don't do it,

that there'd be huge risks

in me talking about this topic,

that people might think I'm a militant black woman

and I would ruin my career.

And I have to tell you,

I actually for a moment was a bit afraid.

Then I realized,

the first step to solving any problem

is to not hide from it,

and the first step to any form of action

is awareness.

And so I decided to actually talk about race.

And I decided that if I came here and shared with you

some of my experiences,

that maybe we could all be a little less anxious

and a little more bold

in our conversations about race.

Now I know there are people out there who will say

that the election of Barack Obama meant

that it was the end of racial discrimination

for all eternity, right?

But I work in the investment business,

and we have a saying:

The numbers do not lie.

And here, there are significant,

quantifiable racial disparities

that cannot be ignored,

in household wealth, household income,

job opportunities, healthcare.

One example from corporate America:

Even though white men

make up just 30 percent of the U.S. population,

they hold 70 percent of all corporate board seats.

Of the Fortune 250,

there are only seven CEOs that are minorities,

and of the thousands of publicly traded companies today, thousands,

only two are chaired by black women,

and you're looking at one of them,

the same one who, not too long ago,

was nearly mistaken for kitchen help.

So that is a fact.

Now I have this thought experiment

that I play with myself, when I say,

imagine if I walked you into a room

and it was of a major corporation, like ExxonMobil,

and every single person around the boardroom were black,

you would think that were weird.

But if I walked you into a Fortune 500 company,

and everyone around the table is a white male,

when will it be that we think that's weird too?

And I know how we got here.

(Applause)

I know how we got here.

You know, there was institutionalized,

at one time legalized, discrimination in our country.

There's no question about it.

But still, as I grapple with this issue,

my mother's question hangs in the air for me:

How did they treat you?

Now, I do not raise this issue to complain

or in any way to elicit any kind of sympathy.

I have succeeded in my life

beyond my wildest expectations,

and I have been treated well by people of all races

more often than I have not.

I tell the uniform story because it happened.

I cite those statistics around corporate board diversity

because they are real,

and I stand here today

talking about this issue of racial discrimination

because I believe it threatens to rob

another generation of all the opportunities

that all of us want for all of our children,

no matter what their color

or where they come from.

And I think it also threatens to hold back businesses.

You see, researchers have coined this term

"color blindness"

to describe a learned behavior where we pretend

that we don't notice race.

If you happen to be surrounded by a bunch of people

who look like you, that's purely accidental.

Now, color blindness, in my view,

doesn't mean that there's no racial discrimination,

and there's fairness.

It doesn't mean that at all. It doesn't ensure it.

In my view, color blindness is very dangerous

because it means we're ignoring the problem.

There was a corporate study that said that,

instead of avoiding race,

the really smart corporations actually deal with it head on.

They actually recognize that embracing diversity

means recognizing all races,

including the majority one.

But I'll be the first one to tell you,

this subject matter can be hard,

awkward, uncomfortable -- but that's kind of the point.

In the spirit of debunking racial stereotypes,

the one that black people don't like to swim,

I'm going to tell you how much I love to swim.

I love to swim so much

that as an adult, I swim with a coach.

And one day my coach had me do a drill

where I had to swim to one end of a 25-meter pool

without taking a breath.

And every single time I failed,

I had to start over.

And I failed a lot.

By the end, I got it, but when I got out of the pool,

I was exasperated and tired and annoyed,

and I said, "Why are we doing breath-holding exercises?"

And my coach looked me at me, and he said, "Mellody,

that was not a breath-holding exercise.

That drill was to make you comfortable

being uncomfortable,

because that's how most of us spend our days."

If we can learn to deal with our discomfort,

and just relax into it,

we'll have a better life.

So I think it's time for us to be comfortable

with the uncomfortable conversation about race:

black, white, Asian, Hispanic,

male, female, all of us,

if we truly believe in equal rights

and equal opportunity in America,

I think we have to have real conversations

about this issue.

We cannot afford to be color blind.

We have to be color brave.

We have to be willing, as teachers and parents

and entrepreneurs and scientists,

we have to be willing to have

proactive conversations about race

with honesty and understanding and courage,

not because it's the right thing to do,

but because it's the smart thing to do,

because our businesses and our products

and our science, our research,

all of that will be better with greater diversity.

Now, my favorite example of color bravery

is a guy named John Skipper.

He runs ESPN.

He's a North Carolina native,

quintessential Southern gentleman, white.

He joined ESPN, which already had a culture

of inclusion and diversity, but he took it up a notch.

He demanded that every open position

have a diverse slate of candidates.

Now he says the senior people

in the beginning bristled,

and they would come to him and say,

"Do you want me to hire the minority,

or do you want me to hire the best person for the job?"

And Skipper says his answers were always the same:

"Yes."

And by saying yes to diversity,

I honestly believe that ESPN

is the most valuable cable franchise in the world.

I think that's a part of the secret sauce.

Now I can tell you, in my own industry,

at Ariel Investments, we actually view our diversity

as a competitive advantage,

and that advantage can extend way beyond business.

There's a guy named Scott Page at the University of Michigan.

He is the first person to develop

a mathematical calculation for diversity.

He says, if you're trying to solve a really hard problem,

really hard,

that you should have a diverse group of people,

including those with diverse intellects.

The example that he gives is the smallpox epidemic.

When it was ravaging Europe,

they brought together all these scientists,

and they were stumped.

And the beginnings of the cure to the disease

came from the most unlikely source,

a dairy farmer who noticed that the milkmaids

were not getting smallpox.

And the smallpox vaccination is bovine-based

because of that dairy farmer.

Now I'm sure you're sitting here and you're saying,

I don't run a cable company,

I don't run an investment firm,

I am not a dairy farmer.

What can I do?

And I'm telling you, you can be color brave.

If you're part of a hiring process

or an admissions process,

you can be color brave.

If you are trying to solve a really hard problem,

you can speak up and be color brave.

Now I know people will say,

but that doesn't add up to a lot,

but I'm actually asking you to do something really simple:

observe your environment,

at work, at school, at home.

I'm asking you to look at the people around you

purposefully and intentionally.

Invite people into your life

who don't look like you, don't think like you,

don't act like you,

don't come from where you come from,

and you might find that they will challenge your assumptions

and make you grow as a person.

You might get powerful new insights

from these individuals,

or, like my husband, who happens to be white,

you might learn that black people,

men, women, children,

we use body lotion every single day.

Now, I also think that this is very important

so that the next generation really understands

that this progress will help them,

because they're expecting us to be great role models.

Now, I told you, my mother,

she was ruthlessly realistic.

She was an unbelievable role model.

She was the kind of person

who got to be the way she was

because she was a single mom

with six kids in Chicago.

She was in the real estate business,

where she worked extraordinarily hard

but oftentimes had a hard time making ends meet.

And that meant sometimes we got

our phone disconnected,

or our lights turned off,

or we got evicted.

When we got evicted, sometimes we lived

in these small apartments that she owned,

sometimes in only one or two rooms,

because they weren't completed,

and we would heat our bathwater on hot plates.

But she never gave up hope, ever,

and she never allowed us to give up hope either.

This brutal pragmatism that she had,

I mean, I was four and she told me,

"Mommy is Santa." (Laughter)

She was this brutal pragmatism.

She taught me so many lessons,

but the most important lesson

was that every single day she told me,

"Mellody, you can be anything."

And because of those words,

I would wake up at the crack of dawn,

and because of those words,

I would love school more than anything,

and because of those words, when I was on a bus

going to school, I dreamed the biggest dreams.

And it's because of those words that I stand here right now

full of passion,

asking you to be brave for the kids

who are dreaming those dreams today.

(Applause)

You see, I want them to look at a CEO on television

and say, "I can be like her,"

or, "He looks like me."

And I want them to know

that anything is possible,

that they can achieve the highest level

that they ever imagined,

that they will be welcome in any corporate boardroom,

or they can lead any company.

You see this idea of being the land

of the free and the home of the brave,

it's woven into the fabric of America.

America, when we have a challenge,

we take it head on, we don't shrink away from it.

We take a stand. We show courage.

So right now, what I'm asking you to do,

I'm asking you to show courage.

I'm asking you to be bold.

As business leaders, I'm asking you

not to leave anything on the table.

As citizens, I'm asking you not to leave any child behind.

I'm asking you not to be color blind,

but to be color brave,

so that every child knows that their future matters

and their dreams are possible.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Thank you. Thanks. Thanks. (Applause)