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Learning Histories
First Bell In 1993 Bertha approached her colleagues in Organizational Development with thoughts of creating a group of African American leaders and potential leaders from Memorial's own internal community. As Bertha began to move through the organization's upper administration she found her idea gaining support. Carl Ellison, Memorial's only African American Vice President, Barbara Murphy, the only African American manager, and Hollis Hughes, an African American member of Memorial's Board, came forward as sponsors for the proposed group. The two senior leaders, Phil Newbold, Memorial CEO, and David Sage gave their approval for the group formation. In June of 1993 the new group, the African American Leadership Initiative (AALI), came together for their first retreat. About 25 individuals, including members of the upper administration who had pledged support, met around the table to discuss the feelings and opinions of Memorial's African American community. What they found was a group that felt undervalued and disrespected. Many felt that they were working twice as hard as their white counterparts and not being rewarded for their commitment to the organization. There were those who felt more closely observed by management and others who watched Caucasian co-workers being sent off to training and classes while their own requests were turned down for ambiguous budgetary reasons. All of these forces came together to make Memorial's African American employees feel isolated and not vested in the total scheme of the hospital/ health system. But why an African American group? Weren't there other members of the organization feeling this same sense of dissatisfaction? By establishing this group was Memorial really working towards establishing a healthy and diverse internal community? The answers to these questions would become evident as more discussion took place. It is important to first establish a working definition of diversity. Diversity is not simply an issue of color or even ethnicity. In its broadest sense, diversity encompasses race, gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, religion, sexual orientation and all of the myriad characteristics that differentiate people from one another. Some institutions, like Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, had developed their own programs and diversity initiatives. In Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare's case, the organization created Health Triangle, an alliance of more than 200 gay and lesbian employees. At the University of Michigan Medical Center their program promoted establishing understanding between religiously diverse staff members. The development of diversity programs for your own organization is not formulaic. It requires discussion, observation and an understanding of what might be silencing the corners of your own classroom. In this case, Memorial was working to create a situation where their internal community was an accurate reflection of their external community. The region that Memorial serves, St. Joseph County, has an African American community that is its largest minority population. Lack of representation of this population in the upper administration has wide-reaching impact. One example would be the means by which Memorial was advertising and promoting its various outreach activities. Many members of the African American community do not take a daily newspaper, making the radio, especially stations with a black music format, a better communication tool. These minor but important details make all the difference in building a community where everyone feels welcome and involved. They are also the details that can be overlooked when the decision makers all come from the same cultural background. The group's first task was to establish a mission and a plan of objectives. Shortly after the first meeting the following mission statement was developed: African American Leadership Initiative - Memorial Hospital and Health System
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