CBA Record January-February 2022

Black History Month Reading Suggestions

Curated by the CBA DICE Committee Diversity | Inclusion | Culture | Equity and Engagement

AUTHENTIC DIVERSITY: HOW TO CHANGE THE WORKPLACE FOR GOOD by Michelle Silverthorn

This ground-break book analyzes the myths and truths surrounding diversity in the workplace. It offers a set of tools that can be used to train staff and associations along the journey of becoming more authentically inclusive in American business and legal settings. Silverthorn challenges those who are well-intentioned but clueless about the topic. She does not shy away from making people uncomfortable in examining the transformation of diversity from the benchmark of Title VII to the reality of the nuances of prejudice, discrimination, and bias. In a dozen chapters, she offers a roadmap of smart goals grounded in data and emphasizes the importance of going beyond being an ally or an anti-racist to being an upstander. The book discusses how many workplace HR teams and affinity groups use the word “diversity” to promote agendas,

individuals, scholarships, and causes without the magnifying lens of knowledge about the history of race and discrimination against many peoples in America. Most importantly, it shines a light on the fact that it is of paramount importance to distinguish authentic champions from new opportunists. Through its lessons, the book illuminates the benefits that can be derived from an honest assessment of where an organization is falling short. Finally, the book explores how managers and members of firms, associations, and departments must be held accountable for transformational outcomes, even if this means learning in discomfort whether the organizations are truly advancing diversity to achieve smart goals. Recommended by Nina Fain, CBA Board of Managers; Co-chair, Diversity, Inclusivity, Culture, Engagement & Equity Committee (DICE), and General Counsel, JSS Family Trust

THE PEOPLE COULD FLY: AMERICAN BLACK FOLKTALES by Virginia Hamilton

Folk tales, by their nature, are designed to teach people something. The brilliance of this collection of folk tales is that it renders the moral, social, and inspiration teachings “on purpose” while also provid- ing underlying information about the time and culture from which the stories developed. This book is highly recommended to those attempting to start conversations about the Black experience in America because of the way the stories elicit questions, which makes the learning process more organic. Recommended by Jessica J. Bell, Founding Attorney, Bell Advocate LLC and Chair of the YLS Social Committee

32 January/February 2022