Political Quotes

“It is obvious to me that the Republican majority doesn't understand what diversity, equity, and inclusion is, so I am going to attempt to explain it this way. We need to be intentional in recruiting from populations that have been historically discriminated against. I will use myself as an example. I grew up in a neighborhood that was 95 percent White. My friends were White. My family was White. I moved into a responsible position. I started to hire people. Typically, you either hire people you know, or you hire people who you know know. That is where you get it. I looked around, and I was hiring a bunch of White people, all right. That is who I knew. What I did is I affirmatively reached out to groups that worked with Black people or Hispanic people or gay people. When I had openings, I said, okay, who have you got? I don't have those relationships, and I built those relationships. That is what diversity, equity and inclusion is, and it is sorely needed in a country that at least until about 30 or 40 years ago was really racist, okay. To correct that, we have to work with communities, diverse communities, to make sure that we recruit the people diversely. The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.”