The Powerful Symbolism of Board Composition
It would be run-of-the-mill dispute about board composition if not for one thing.
Race.
And race changes everything.
From an AP report earlier today:
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The National Civil Rights Museum, built around the motel where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, is drawing criticism that its governing board is too white and too closely tied to big business to watch over such an important piece of black history. …
Of its 32 board members, the Lorraine Civil Rights Museum Foundation lists 12 as representatives of large corporations, including FedEx, AutoZone and International Paper. Fifteen board members are black, 15 are white, one is Hispanic and one is of East Indian heritage.
Given the shameful treatment of African-Americans in this country — the institutionalized racism that slavery represented is our original sin, one for which we’ve yet to atone, even to this day — I can understand why the black community would be sensitive to handing over the stewardship of its most iconic figure to others. Yet I can’t help but recall that Dr. King himself, in his most famous words, called for people to be judged not on the color of their skin but on the content of their character. What would he make of the argument that the foundation isn’t “black enough”?
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POSTED IN: Boards, Foundations
2 opinions for The Powerful Symbolism of Board Composition
Allan Benamer
Nov 3, 2007 at 9:54 am
Uh, MLK was talking about building the future towards that world. He wasn’t saying that it existed now. The full quote is as follows:
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
I really hate it when I hear people misquote MLK in precisely the way you do. As a person of color myself, I see progress but it’s awfully slow especially when you consider what white people SAY as opposed to what they actually DO.
tdurso
Nov 5, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Thanks for your comment, Allan. I suspect we may be in more agreement than you think. The progress IS slow — too slow. And too many of us profess a desire for equality without taking steps to make it happen. Hope you keep reading.
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