The least integrated hour in America

You’ve heard the quote. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning is “the most segregated hour in this nation,” going on to call rampant racial segregation in American churches “tragic.”

And come tomorrow, workers across our country will sit down to probably the least integrated hour in America: the Monday morning meeting.

We dread them. That moment when we all awkwardly search to send up to the powers that be that “status” signal of what’s going on, that we’re in control for what’s to come; it’s as if last week’s Monday morning meeting was an episode in absentia.

So, let’s not pretend that the event’s of last week will have no play at the office this week. Last week meant something to most of us, so why not talk about it like humans? Since Thursday I haven’t left my house much. I know what I’m feeling. Confusion. Apathy. Anger. Disillusionment. Helplessness. All of those things will affect my performance this week, and perhaps for months to come, and unless I talk about them I’m a lone wolf. And the world right now doesn’t need more lone wolves.

This issue we’re facing isn’t just black and white, its been made to be consumed that way, as it’s a much easier sell. I’m often viewed, seen, and identified as a black person, although I am not. And while I’m not OK with that, I’m OK with it. However, it’s in that very treatment, as being seen and treated as something other than white, is the point to all this. As a society we are deeply biased against the things that we are not, and it’s most noticeable in the work environment.

So, come tomorrow morning examine yourself and your staffs, examine what you’re good at and what you’re not. Get what you need from your “meeting” as a way towards building an understanding, and how you as an individual and an organization are going to use these events as a defining moment of action. Be vulnerable in this moment, as we might not have it again, and sadly should it occur again, how we’re going to be better ready to respond. We need to unpack these bags that we’re all carrying.

This is a time for empathy building. We need leaders, real leaders, to take off their blinders and help assist with the removal of others. I hope you’ll accept the call, as there can be no greater signal sent, then that, which we all witnessed last week.