As a clean energy leader and a black man, I often go to conferences and gatherings where I am one of a few, if not the only black person in the room. It is so glaring, that I’ve made a small game out of counting. I think the game is a way to not feel the horror that is creeping up in me. Often, when there are black and brown faces, they are the faces of the hired support staff, not conference attendees. I cannot count the amount of times other attendees have asked me to fetch them something or to park their car because they assume that I am also a support staffer. It doesn’t matter that my name tag says “CEO”, they are not looking for that. They have all the info they need by seeing the color of my skin.
In this moment, I hope that folks beyond me are beginning to see why these little things matter. It is my hope, that the next time I see a “diversity and inclusion panel” it includes a white, cisgender male CEO talking about why diversity is good for their business, and what steps they are taking to build on it. I also hope to see the “financing the next phase” panel being led by black and brown people. And if your company doesn’t have a black or brown person who can lead that panel, I suggest you think about why that is and take some action.
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