The Inclusive Organization

Introduction

I remember being a young girl, riding my bike down the peaceful tree‐lined street I grew up on in quiet Rhode Island. We were one of the only Black families in our neighborhood, but I never really noticed or thought about it as a child. I remember playing with my best friend who lived just upstairs from my family. The two of us were inseparable; we spent our days biking around our neighborhood, looking for dinosaur fossils, and laughing until our bellies hurt. My childhood was full of moments like these—innocent, free, and light. But when I was seven years old, my bubble of innocence burst, as I was exposed to an uglier side of our society that would stick with me for the rest of my life. My family had just moved into a single‐family home, still in the same town I'd lived in since I was a baby. My mother and I were standing in our new yard when a white woman walked right up to my mother and spat directly on her face.

“Blacks don't belong in my neighborhood,” she violently hissed at my mother. I stood frozen, watching the woman's yellow phlegm drip down my mother's face. My mother calculated her options; to this day I can still see her doing the mental math on how to get us both safely out of the situation. In tandem, without saying a word, we turned around and walked into our home. We both went to sleep that night crying.

I share this story with you to explain why my life and career have followed the path that they have. This incident ended up stoking a deep desire ...