Dear Valued Subscriber
Some have criticized me for adding a healthy dose of history into my diversity training and unconscious bias workshops. The events in Charlottesville will cause to double down in my history. Philosopher and essayist George Santayana said it best: "Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." My fellow Americans, we are now repeating history. Our ugliest segments of American history. Thanks to the validation of Donald Trump, white supremacy is now back in fashion, as active now as is it was in 1925. Trump's refusal of calling out the right alt groups who violently marched in Charlottesville last weekend as domestic terrorists propagating hate only clarifies that they are a significant part of his base and he will never refute them. Three people died, including a 32-year-old Patriot who marched for her beliefs of equality, and two Virginia state troopers doing their job to keep the peace. White brothers and a sister who died too soon because of the hate generating by misguided YOUNG white men who have lost their way in life. Misguided white supremacy agitators disrupted society in the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. They have never gone away. However, the voices of equality, social justice AND diversity have always countered these angry hate mongers and neutralized their violence. I call them Diversity Crusaders, and I am in their midst. I will not be silent. I will not become a bystander while civil disruption rises from the ashes. I will speak out with others who want white supremacy neutralized. I will attend the protest rally scheduled for Boston this Saturday when the alt right comes to the Boston Common. And I will definitely keep teaching history as a significant part of my diversity and unconscious bias training sessions. I hope you will join me. Say NO to hate and do not remain silent. -Carole Copeland Thomas
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Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern.
Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== To think that the new movie, Detroit, represented a comprehensive look at a terrible event that took place in July of 1967 is only to give credence to part of a complex story. Yes, see the movie, but realize it’s only covering a segment of a citywide episode in Detroit’s long history. I was born black hospital in Detroit and largely raised in a middle-class neighborhood on the city’s west side. My story is what the movie didn’t capture as it opened the closet door of a major metropolitan city at the cross roads of civil rights, Vietnam, and unrest everywhere. Today’s show is a personal one for me. And an opportunity to add layers of truth onto a movie that opened old wounds dating back more than 50 years. ======================= The July 1967 Detroit Riots Source: Wikipedia and The Detroit Free Press The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street riot or the 1967 Detroit rebellion, was a violent public disorder that turned into a civil disturbance in Detroit, Michigan. It began in the early morning hours of Sunday July 23, 1967. The precipitating event was a police raid of an unlicensed, after-hours bar then known as a blind pig, just north of the corner of 12th Street (today Rosa Parks Boulevard) and Virginia Park Avenue, on the city's Near West Side. Police confrontations with patrons and observers on the street evolved into one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in the history of the United States, lasting five days and surpassing the violence and property destruction of Detroit's 1943 race riot. To help end the disturbance, Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan Army National Guard into Detroit, and President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The result was 43 dead, 1,189 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. The scale of the riot was surpassed in the United States only by the 1863 New York City draft riots during the American Civil War, and the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The riot was prominently featured in the news media, with live television coverage, extensive newspaper reporting, and extensive stories in Time and Life magazines. The staff of the Detroit Free Press won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for general local reporting for its coverage. By Thursday, much of the city was calm for the first time in five days. Many Detroiters and suburbanites were exhausted, sad, scared, confused and angry. And they also were curious about what had happened. Such large crowds and cars jammed 12th Street and other battered neighborhoods Thursday that Romney felt forced to reinstate the 9 p.m.- 5:30 a.m. curfew to control traffic and allow cleanup crews access. The sights of soldiers, tanks, streets glittering with glass and smoking piles of rubble where busy businesses once stood were so much more harsh in person than on TV, and the images left many people feeling disoriented and ill. The stats startled the world: 43 dead (33 African Americans and 10 whites); 1,189 injured; 7,231 arrests, of which 14% were white; 2,509 stores looted or burned; and 3,034 calls for fire department service. Of all structure fires, perhaps as many as 27% took place in black-owned businesses, according to historian Sidney Fine. “The catastrophe which has struck Detroit is a disaster by any reasonable definition of that term,” Romney said. On Thursday, Cavanagh assembled at city hall 500 Detroiters, from Henry Ford II, UAW President Walter Reuther, department store chief J.L. Hudson Jr. to numerous community and neighborhood leaders. The mayor would appoint Hudson, then 35, to lead a city rebuilding committee, which would become New Detroit Inc. “We had to have something like this to wake us up to the fact that we have a revolution going on,” said Anthony Locricchio, an antipoverty activist. “We knew this would be bad, but we didn’t know it would be this bad.” =========================================================== Watch More About Detroit's Middle Class Neighborhoods From the 1960s And The Events That Led To The 1967 Detroit Riots Conrad Mallett, Jr. Former Chief Justice Michigan Supreme Court And My Cass Tech High School Classmate - Class of 1971 Click On The Image Of Judge Mallett To Hear The Interview
Carole having fun mocking a statue at the Muraleando Community Center in a vibrant Havana neighborhood.
The Woman Riding The Rooster
That's the name that I give this famous 2012 statue by Roberto Fabelo. You'll find it at Plaza Vieja in old Havana, Cuba. The interpretation of this statue is left up to your imagination. I see it as a nude woman, during lean times in Cuba, having to resort to prostitution in order to put food on her family's dinner table each day.
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Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern. Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== There’s so much to tell about the trip I led from St. Augustine To Cuba. Today's program concludes our wonderful journey into our historical past. The food, dance, music, and culture provides a window into the resilience and creativity of people, their passions, and their persistence. Today we’ll focus on Cuba, its people and its multi-ethnic communities. Make sure you listen to the July 6th broadcast to learn more about Fort Mose, St. Augustine, Florida and the courageous slaves who fled South to find freedom. Buckle up and travel with me to Cuba…a short 90 miles off the coast of Florida.
Our 2017 Florida Cuba Travel Group
There’s so much to tell about the trip I led from St. Augustine To Cuba that today is just the beginning of a wonderful journey into our historical past. The food, dance, music, and culture provides a window into the resilience and creativity of people, their passions, and their persistence. We’ll start the journey today and continue it in the weeks to come. It’s multiculturalism at its best from Fort Mose to The Woolworth Lunch Counter To Old Havana.
Buckle up and travel with me back in time to an era gone by, but still in our hearts and mind. Conservative Blogger Erick Erickson America is such a large country that it’s relatively easy for some populations to hide out with “their own kind.” Our media is so segmented that information can be brought to you by your favorite cable network, blogger or politically affiliated news organization with virtually no connection to the other side. You don’t have to understand the other side because you don’t have to spend anytime reaching out to them. Unless you’re willing and able to suspend your own judgment and walk a mile in “their shoes.”
Because I live a transparent life and practice diversity wherever I can, I subscribe to conservative bloggers and opinion makers. One of them is Erick Erickson, a moderate conservative who has written a remarkable commentary on understanding how everyday life activities impacts Blacks and Hispanics. He starts out by saying, “I am writing here about something I know nothing about and, given the demographics of this website, most of you know nothing about. I have witnessed it, but I have not experienced it.” The article details the acquittal of the police officer to shot and killed Philando Castile in an incident all caught on video. Read the article and share it with your friends and colleagues. The opening paragraph alone is worth a discussion with your staff over a brown bag lunch. How often do we judge “those people” without ever getting a sense of how they are treated is the essence of Erick’s commentary. Then, think about subscribing to a blog, newsletter, or media outlet that has opposing views to your world. Learning first hand how the other side thinks is the first step in diversity and cross-cultural understanding. ![]()
Ever try to cut a piece of paper with dull scissors? It’s an annoying predicament that will have you running around your office or home looking for a pair of scissors that will cut straight and finish the job. It’s even dicier when you’re cutting fabric with scissors that simply don’t have enough action to separate a piece of cloth or ribbon. When either episode happens, you have a few choices. You can replace the scissors with a sharper more reliable version that you have on hand. You can toss the scissors in the trash and purchase new ones. Or you can sharpen the scissors and bring them back to life with new gusto and precision.
In life, in your business or on our job, quite often we’re like those scissors. The potential is definitely there. The accomplishments of the past are in the record book. But there’s a need to sharpen our skills to keep us relevant and connected to an ever-changing marketplace. Perhaps you’ve grown quite comfortable on your job. Prior to rumors of a company reorganization, you’ve had no reason to change, edit or modify anything that got you hired in the first place. You “fit in,” have a list of your past achievements and take charge only when you have to. Maybe you successfully launched your business, and the pipeline of new clients has been steady. However, lately you’ve hit a plateau that’s lasted a bit too long and you need to figure out how to pivot before it’s too late. Or the handwriting has been on the wall for months, and you need to figure out your transition strategy. Do you start that new business while your resources are solid or stay onboard your organization and “wait it out” until more certain times await leaving and starting a new venture? All three situations lead to either scissor sharpening or staring at replacements right outside your door. In our society, resharpening your skills should always take high priority in our life. You should make the time to stay relevant and current in your profession or business no matter who you are or what you do. Find the sharpener in new courses you can take, a coach you can hire, or a “refresh” you can launch all by yourself. Don’t wait until you find yourself on the trash heap. Take action, stay sharp and fully expand the positive possibilities that await your life.
Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern.
Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== We’re in the middle of graduation season with cars zipping down streets, motorcycles rambling through busy highways and pedestrians dashing off to work at record speed. To a young person who has just graduated from high school or college, the excitement of finishing school may cause them to throw caution to the wind. And when that occurs, accidents or worse could happen. During today’s show, we’ll share tips and techniques to help remind young people to stay safe while having fun. We’ll walk you through the FREE Student Safety Guide and highlight why this document could save your life. We’ll also give you 5 great reasons why hiring a coach may be the right decision to propel your career or business to the next level. And we’ll discuss the preliminary findings of the "Diversity at Work" survey I recently launched.
Focus On Empowerment can be heard every Thursday at 1pm Eastern.
Log Onto: www.blogtalkradio.com/globalcarole Listen LIVE or Download Anytime At This Blog Post. Each broadcast can be replayed immediately following the show. ======================== Today we pay tribute to the young warriors graduating from schools across the world. In America, we’re at the height of graduation ceremonies from elementary, middle and high schools, colleges, universities, trade schools and military programs. It’s a time of great celebration for the young and not so young who have worked hard, persevered and finished their coursework. We salute their achievements! Let the parties begin. However, let’s also do our level best to keep our graduates safe and protected from harm’s way. As a parent of three children, I have experienced the transition from graduation festivities to an unexpected tragedy. I’ll share my story of losing a child in the midst of a graduation season and what it’s like to survive the death of a child. We’ll also give you the latest news on our exciting new coaching academy and how you can invest in yourself by hiring the right personal coach. No matter what your occupation or business, coaching can improve your productivity and help move you to a new level of achievement and success.
Periodically I need to check in with you, my very special subscribers, to do a "temperature check" on the realities of diversity in the workplace. I have created a quick 10 question survey that should take you no more than TEN minutes to complete.
Here's the link: http://bit.ly/2siDdBY The survey is completely ANONYMOUS, and your truthfulness and honesty will help to keep the tabulations authentic and credible. Some of the questions are required to answer. Some you may skip if you choose. The survey results will be announced in mid-June. I thank you in advance of participating in this important survey process. Please feel free to share this link with our friends and colleagues. We ask that you complete the survey by Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Thank you for your valuable insights. --Carole Copeland Thomas
My vivid recollection of the Gettysburg Address dates back to the years when my children were small. One year, in particular, put the whole town of Milton, Massachusetts in remembrance mode, including the students who participated in the Memorial Day celebration. We all gathered at the Milton Cemetery to pay homage to the war dead. My son played saxophone in the school band. His twin sister, dressed in her Girl Scout uniform, played the flute. And their older sister, who ironically celebrates a birthday today, had the distinction of reciting the Gettysburg Address. That was a proud moment for my family.
That address further anchored Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest Presidents in history. Not for the length of the speech. It was only 271 words and originally lasted only two minutes long. It followed the two-hour long oratorical speech of Massachusetts’s own Edward Edwards, the main speaker of that historic November day in 1863. Few remember Edwards’ speech, much less his political contributions of that time. The country remembered Lincoln’s message that commemorated the thousands of men, both Confederate and Union troops, who died in bravery and fear in that sleepy farming community in Pennsylvania in July 1863. As we celebrate this Memorial Day, let us remember the men and women who died on duty fighting wars to protect America. To help you remember, I have included The Gettysburg Address in this commentary (this is the government version, including strikethroughs). I also encourage you to visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania if you haven’t been there since a childhood school field trip. It will make you stop and reflect on the price of freedom. And please listen to my recent radio interview with Dr. George N’Namdi. His uncle, Lt. Langdon E. Johnson, a Tuskegee Airman, died a hero in World War II when his plane was shot down off the coast of Southern France in 1944. Here’s the link to last week’s radio program: http://bit.ly/2qjV6jy Before you stoke up the barbecue grill, pay tribute to the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country free. We celebrate their lives and their deaths this May 29, 2017, Memorial Day. Patriots. Citizens. The ones who never came back home.
Transcript of Gettysburg Address (1863)
Executive Mansion, Washington, 1863 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal" Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground-- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here. It is rather for us, the living, to stand here, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth. |
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The Multicultural Symposium Series Webinar Series features current topics designed to enhance personal development both on and off the job. All you need is a computer and a phone to join each webinar. Open to Members of the Multicultural Symposium Series.
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Click On The Book Cover Below... AuthorCarole Copeland Thomas is a 27 year speaker, trainer and consultant specializing in global diversity, empowerment, multiculturalism and leadership issues. Archives
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