The Rotary Club of Kirkland held its regular weekly meeting online on August 10, 2020.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Darcia Tudor, Gary Cohn, Dan Bartel, Joanne Primavera, Kristin Olson, Rich Bergdahl, Patti Smith, Rick Walter, John Pruitt, Rick Ostrander, Margie Glenn, George Anderson, Brandon Honcoop, Dave DeBois, Mike Hunter, Terry Cole, Monica Fratita, Jim Meneketti. Let me know if I missed anyone.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:15 p.m.
Rick Walter recited the Pledge of Allegiance while the rest of us stood, mostly mute, in order to avoid ‘out-of-sync-problems’ with our audio.
Dave DeBois reported that the Chamber has 256 applications and is not accepting more at this point, for the business support grants. A lottery will determine which 200 applicants will receive money. The Chamber is struggling to stay afloat. Several City of Kirkland officials have assisted with the grant process. The Chamber did not get as much monetary support as they had hoped for this round of fund-raising. The program seems to be running out of steam. A Federal program is anticipated.
Our speaker tonight is Scott Miller, who thanked everyone for inviting him. Darcia Tudor has control of the screen and will add to the discussion of tonight’s subject – White Privilege.
Mr. Miller related his personal experience as a white male reporter with a Japanese wife and adopted Guatemalan child. Other people have sometimes assumed that both his wife and child were somehow not on the same plane as ‘white’ Americans. There is not general understanding that whites have a built-in advantage because such assumptions as experienced by his wife and child do not apply to whites. He noticed also that his early experience with environmental and other activist groups that they were very white.
Part of the problem is that whites can at discretion, ignore these kinds of occurrences. Guilt does not lead to solutions – it disempowers. Whites need to accept responsibility for finding solutions. [“If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem” – Eldridge Cleaver.]
Darcia spoke and noted that although she is a woman of color, she also was privileged because she has wealth and position – but, she still suffers slights.
The big question is, what are we going to do about it? We need to work towards solutions – we need to look to the future, towards solutions.
Research shows that diversity improves quality and creativity. Social equity needs to move towards center stage in the influential organizations in this country.
Young people are way ahead on this issue, especially. One suggestion – take names off resumes so that gender and perceived ethnicity do not prejudice the evaluation of a person’s resume. Social views tend to shift in steps rather than linearly – change is not always a smooth process. It is important to go through the process – only in this way can we as a society begin to make progress in the struggle to come to terms with bias. It is very necessary to somehow make a multi-year commitment to change in order to actually progress. This requires an openness to change – impact trumps intent – what you model or say impacts others rather than what we think we mean or intend.
There were many good questions, including how do we as a Club become more diverse? Darcia will send us all resources to assist that process. We all must get more experienced and comfortable interacting with people different from ourselves so we can become more welcoming. The officers of an organization especially need to be well-trained in equity and diversity. “Change moves at the speed of trust.” This will take time but it is critical to keep moving forward. There has been a shift in attitudes but it MUST last. Difficult conversations are necessary to progress!
We adjourned at 7:44 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe