The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2020

24 JULY-AUGUST 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL We were taken aback by the inability of some of our colleagues to see what had happened as anything more than an unfortunate incident. Fatima is strong, outspoken and independent: At that moment, however, we chose to leave it in the hands of the system to decide how to improve procedures; and it did so, quietly. My unease only grew across my career, and not just because of my fam- ily’s experiences. I listened to Black colleagues speak in veiled terms of how they felt they were viewed as somehow less capable. I witnessed the efforts of Black, Latino and Muslim colleagues to respond to a sometimes difficult environment. I saw how difficult it was at times for some to have genuinely color- blind reviews of candidates for positions, although I never saw outright prejudice at play. Many of my white colleagues would never willingly engage in a conversation about race. Kasi Lemmons says it more clearly than I ever could in describing this mindset: “You can live your whole lives without really considering how we live ours.” Finding a Way Forward It is legitimate to ask what I did in response, as a person in authority, to what I perceived in the workplace. Across my career I sought to create a nondiscriminatory work environment, but the fact is that the vast majority of State’s employees would not consciously discriminate against their colleagues on the basis of race, which is why it is so dif- ficult to address the underlying mindset. To the best of my knowledge, mission leaders worldwide implemented depart- ment guidelines or instructions against discrimination, and they supported updated training as it became available. Black History Month events are central to every embassy I know. None of these actions, however, have been fully suc- cessful in addressing the question of the mindset on race. In finding a way forward now, it is important to acknowledge the efforts made at State over the years to create a better working environment and to expand recruitment of minorities and women. The Academy of American Diplomacy’s latest recommendations on reform are an important addition to the debate on additional steps that should be taken. But legislation and workplace regula- tions are one thing; coming to terms with how deep the waters of inadvertent bias run is another. Diversity candidates appear on lists for senior and ambas- sadorial positions as a deliberate policy. Yet today only three career diplomat ambassadors worldwide are Black American … a reflection of the uncon- scious bias the department now says it wants to address? The sixth- and seventh-floor leader- ship of the building also reflects the challenge: The Secretary, Deputy Secre- tary and counselor are white males; of dozens of under secretaries and assistant-secretary equivalents, the overwhelming majority are white and male. None are Black. There are few women. Most special representatives and special envoys are white and male. It is worth asking why this happens in the context of the repeated statements, even today, of the commitment to diversity and inclusion. And so now we are at another moment of definition for the State Department. The Director General of the Foreign Service and Deputy Secretary are taking an important lead in launching new initiatives to address discrimination and the pain of the moment. A Genuinely Open Conversation We need, however, to go beyond well- intentioned appeals to dialogue and our better nature and the all-encompassing calls for greater diversity and inclusive- ness. These calls are not enough. Perhaps one of the most difficult questions to come to terms with is how, in an institution that prides itself on recruit- ing the most qualified professionals and promoting diversity, and where most employees do not consider themselves to be part of the problem, we can still see attitudes on race that fall below the stan- dards we want to have as a society. We could be more pointed in address- ing the race question. All discrimination is “unacceptable.” The State Depart- ment has been calling for an end to all forms of discrimination since I joined in 1982. This time the conversation has to be explicitly about racism if it is not to be another temporary and, frankly, reactive response to what is happening in our country. The Association of Black This time the conversation has to be explicitly about racism if it is not to be another temporary and, frankly, reactive response to what is happening in our country.