Learning Histories

Calling the Roll - Who's Absent? Part 1 of 7 How Big is the Back Row? Part 2 of 7 First Bell Part 3 of 7 Raising Hands, Raising Voices Part 4 of 7 Many Hands, Many Voices Part 5 of 7 Rearranging Your Own Classroom Part 6 of 7 Moving Toward the Front Part 7 of 7 Click here to download all parts in one file (Rich-Text format 48K) E-Mail Questions and Comments

Raising Hands, Raising Voices

African American Leadership Initiative (AALI) members began to meet on a monthly basis starting out as a support and discussion group. As Rosalind Alexander, a Memorial staff member and one AALI's initial members puts it, "It gives you a chance to meet with your peers to share your concerns. We understand the ups and downs of our culture." This coming together also served as an opportunity to illustrate the fact that the workers were not alone, despite their feelings of isolation. One visiting speaker, a physician, spoke about the first time he had entered the physician's lounge. "The room went silent and everyone turned and looked. Finally, someone approached me and suggested that I might be in the wrong place. I asked if this was the doctor's lounge. When I was told 'Yes' I introduced myself to him as Dr. Beasley."

At other times AALI serves as a reality check for members. According to Bertha King, "Sometimes the support group is the place where you can be told you need to clean up your act- that you might need to change your attitude. It can't be assumed that every disciplinary action stems from someone being a racist." But how many times are decisions made based on racial assumptions? Here again is an instance where a lack of diversity in managerial or administrative positions can lead to difficulties. In a study conducted in the early 1990s by the Russel Sage Foundation (epn.org/sage/rstill.html) titled " 'Soft Skills' and Race: An Investigation of Black Men's Employment Problems," researchers Philip Moss and Chris Tilly discovered an alarming trend in hiring practices. Specifically, black men were not being hired for positions based on a cluster of characteristics titled 'soft skills'. These factors, which can be divided into interaction skills and motivation skills, include friendliness, spoken communication skills, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and dependability. What was not being taken into consideration was the outside influences that, in some cases, required certain behaviors of these men.

Statistics show that the majority of individuals living below the poverty line or in "at risk" neighborhoods are minorities. The rules of surviving daily life in many of these communities are not easy to see walking through the door of a human resources office or a workplace. Managers and supervisors interviewed for the study said that they felt intimidated, if not scared, by these employees or potential employees. Does this mean that organizations should change their demeanor to accommodate the behavior of a few individuals? Should administrators be made to feel uncomfortable in their work environment? No. But, what happens when administrators approach these 'soft skill' issues from a standpoint of cultural differences as opposed to a vantage point of fear? How many more individuals will be allowed in the front door and given an opportunity to succeed?

By 1996 AALI began reaching outward into the community by undertaking projects like:

• National South African Black Doll Project: Regional coordinator in the collection of Black dolls and monies for deprived youngsters in South Africa, resulting in special recognition from the national Africa Fund Office.
• Coordination of a week-long African American blood pressure screening during the Black History Month celebration. One year later this project expanded to include a one-day African American Health Information and Awareness Initiative highlighting diseases affecting targeted populations of color.
• Support of the North Central Indiana Comprehensive Sickle Cell Initiative by participating in their screenings throughout St. Joseph, Elkhart and LaPorte counties. Referrals were provided by members to facilitate awareness within inner-city communities.
• Riley High School Career Fair: Acted as joint host and participant in the all day event which introduced students to possible careers available in the healthcare field.

Memorial's AALI group also sought opportunities with which to introduce their own members to careers and advancement. Nine members of the group attended the Chicago based 1996 Region V Conference, "Closing the Gap: Progressive Strategies for Improving Health in Communities of Color." The goal of the conference was to explore, discuss and provide responses to cross-cutting health issues that affect minority populations. Some of these individuals had been with Memorial for ten or more years and had never attended a conference out of state. Most importantly it empowered Memorial's attendees with knowledge. Rosalind Alexander, a Memorial employee and one of AALI's members, said, "The conferences are an opportunity to learn about how other communities are doing things, and how we can encourage participation of different levels of employees in a meeting, which you can then bring back to your own community."

This exchange of understanding between Memorial and the outer community is vital to the mission of both AALI and the hospital/ health system as a whole. Bertha King has offered that, "There is a strong need for education within our culture from a holistic sense- 'Why do we need to help THOSE people- people who are different, homeless, unemployed, addicted?'. Hopefully, the members of AALI will now be able to go back to their own communities and share the reasons why it is important."

This goes back to the issue of 'soft skills.' What happens when it is a brother, sister or best friend who is educating about how to arrive at a job interview? How much more receptive is the audience when it is an aunt or uncle teaching the importance of education? By empowering the minority workforce already under their roof, Memorial was providing opportunities for a new group of serious, determined and professional future leaders.