Living Diversity Across Race and Culture

Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People

Michael Dismuke and Lorenzo Jones from Eden Housing, join me in this conversation on race.

Listen in for practical advice, and best practices for engaging in successful cross-race conversations as they share their experiences. Eden Housing is an organization that develops, manages, and maintains affordable housing throughout California.

With a multi-racial and multi-cultural employee base, they have been able to ensure that their multi-racial, and multi-cultural residents feel included, respected and heard. When you have people living or working together from diverse backgrounds, unless people are able to interact with each other in meaningful ways, there can be tensions, bias and silos. Hear how Eden Housing is able to bring people together across race to thrive together.

Discover why meaningful interactions, and sharing personal stories can stop racial and other kinds of bias. Learn why leaders need to start with themselves in the conversation about race, by reflecting on their own experiences, their own bias, and why they think and act the way they do. They need to live their values if they say they value diversity and racial equity. Racial equity doesn’t happen by itself. It takes the whole organization to work together. In this conversation on race, Michael Dismuke and Lorenzo Jones offer concrete suggestions and solutions to talk about race, and how to live diversity, equity and inclusion.

Key topics:

[2:53] How Michael Dismuke and Lorenzo Jones credit their own interracial, multicultural backgrounds as contributors to their success as leaders at Eden Housing.

[4:52] Creating comfortable environments to talk about race and have “curious conversations”.

[9:29] Having conversations across race and finding connections.

[14:30] The importance of going beyond racial optics in organization. You have to live inclusion and diversity to be successful.

[16:00] Creating a diversity council that is diverse.

[20:33] Best practices for inclusion during holiday seasons.

[26:33] How to make people from diverse religious faiths and observances feel included, while not favoring any one group.

[31:49] Gamifying cross-race conversations, and sharing stories across race and culture.

[39.31] Recognition, and showing respect for indigenous people and their history on the land.

[45:28] The problem of mixing religion, politics and organizational policies.

Guests Bio:

LORENZO JONES

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

As Senior Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Lorenzo is responsible for crafting a comprehensive DEI strategy for the organization, defining goals, and providing a roadmap to ensure that Eden Housing embeds a commitment to racial, social, and economic justice in all its work. He facilitates and creates linkages among Eden’s DEI Council, working groups and committees, and evaluates Eden’s internal processes and practices with an equity lens.

MICHAEL DISMUKE

VICE PRESIDENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

As Vice President of Organizational Development and Internal Communications, Michael is a key member of the Human Resources and Extended Leadership Teams (ELT) at Eden Housing. He is the communications advisor to the company’s executive team and senior leaders across the company. He creates and executes strategies to ensure the company’s human capital has the training and resources they need to support the growth of the organization.

Host Bio

Simma Lieberman, The Inclusionist helps leaders create inclusive cultures. She is a consultant, speaker and facilitator and the host of the podcast, “Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People.” Contact [e-mail] Go to www.simmalieberman.com and www.raceconvo.com for more information Simma is a member of and inspired by the global organization IAC (Inclusion Allies Coalition)