[Hearts-of-GOLD] And in more troubling news...

[LaDue, Daphne S.]

Hi all,

Thanks for sharing this, Sim! These incidents are awful, but I worry that they end up with a paralyzing effect. I fear it makes people afraid to say ANYTHING on diversity in inclusion issues. I hope their effect on us is to take increasing care with our words, learn quickly from our (and others'!) mistakes, but not stop talking completely, because our silence is deafening.  

Cheers,
Daphne

-- 
Daphne S. LaDue, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms
University of Oklahoma
Ph: 405-325-1898, Email: daphne.s.ladue-1 at ou.edu
NWC REU Program: http://www.caps.ou.edu/reu/
Pronouns: She/Her

On 2/20/19, 2:50 PM, "Hearts-of-GOLD on behalf of sim.aberson" <hearts-of-gold-bounces at mailman.ucar.edu on behalf of sim.aberson at noaa.gov> wrote:

    NOAA had a recent program commemorating African American History Month; 
    participants could attend the actual event in the DC area, or from the 
    field via webinar.  The speaker, Richard Hill, Director of Equal 
    Opportunity and Diversity Management for the National Weather Service, 
    gave an engaging talk on the Migration of 1879 and the Exodusters. 
    During the question-and-answer session following his talk, he described 
    the history of African-American migrations in the US and why they 
    happened, he talked about events that could lead to African-Americans 
    being seen as expendable, and what saved them in each case.  He 
    mentioned the Great Depression and said that what saved African 
    Americans then was the advent of World War II when men were needed for 
    the Armed Forces and women were needed for factories.  He then stated, 
    "God Bless Adolph Hitler."
    
    Being in the field, I was unaware of what was going on in the room at 
    the time.  So, I contacted numerous people, including the head of NOAA 
    who introduced the event, to express my dismay.  The following letter 
    was sent out to registered participants in the event six days later.  If 
    anyone participated without registering, they would not have gotten the 
    letter sent directly to them.
    
    Sim
    
    _____
    
    Good Afternoon,
    
    I wanted to take a moment to address an incident that occurred on 
    Wednesday, February 13, during our African American History Month 
    Special Observance.  At the end of the program during a question and 
    answer period, the speaker jokingly made a comment that appeared to 
    praise Adolph Hitler.  Needless to say the comment was unnerving and 
    upsetting to many listeners.
    
    I want to emphasize that the speaker’s statement does not represent the 
    beliefs of the Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights, or the views or 
    beliefs of leadership within the Agency.  For those who were offended by 
    the comment, I assure you that NOAA remains committed to diversity, 
    tolerance, and inclusion for all and will continue to promote these 
    values across the Agency.
    
    I also want you to know that the matter was addressed immediately after 
    the event.  The speaker has apologized profusely for his indiscretion, 
    and wants everyone to know that it was an inadvertent comment that he 
    understands was inappropriate.
    
    I have directed my staff to put measures in place to do what we can to 
    ensure mistakes such as this do not occur in the future.  This was an 
    unfortunate incident, but hopefully we can grow from it and continue to 
    move forward toward creating a workplace that values diversity, is 
    tolerant of all persons, and truly inclusive.
    
    
    v/r
    Kenneth M. Bailey
    Director, Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights
    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
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