5 Things / Evolving Roles


Listen to the Full Episode Here:


It’s officially time to hit the ground running on fall/winter projects. But after a summer with some major DEI backslides, it can be easy to lose momentum. During last week’s conversation with Jennifer Brown on 5 Things in 15 Minutes, she presented a new way of thinking about each of our evolving roles in this shifting DEI landscape. She encouraged us to reflect on the following:

  • Notice the system that is in play, the systems that you have any kind of influence over. These could be numerous systems at work, in the community, in your family, in your church, etc.

  • Are you an insider or an outsider in that system or somewhere in between?

  • How do you want to interact with that system? What do you want to bring as a change agent? What do you have the capacity to bring?

Jennifer suggests that this could mean that we bring our voice as somebody who has been traditionally marginalized. Or perhaps we bring our insider status to raise attention around something and shine a light on something inequitable.

Jennifer’s message is, “If we could all look at the ingredients of who we are in this way, I think we would be more useful…the challengers [like you!] from the inside are super important at this moment because that's where this tussle is going on…for the soul and the spirit of equity and equality.

Here Are This Week's Good Vibes:

  1. Lego Is Launching Its Braille Bricks in English and French for the General Public

  2. Nebraska Cornhuskers Volleyball Breaks Women’s Sports World Attendance Record

  3. Texas Waves Goodbye to Sales Tax on Menstrual and Gender-Based Products

  4. Retailers Help Generate $14 Billion for Black-Owned Companies

  5. Lumen Field Was Awarded Kulture City’s Sports Venue of the Year Award 2023

    • The Seattle Seahawks won Kulture City’s Sports Venue of the Year for “Ben’s Room”, their sensory room at Lumen Field. The room is named in honor of Ben Schneider, the son of the team's general manager, who has autism. It provides a calming environment for guests with sensory needs during games. The room has soundproof carpet along the floor and walls, activity panels, bean bags, visual light panels, and more. What I love most, though, is that the Seahawks partnered with KultureCity to train 400+ gameday staff to recognize and assist guests with sensory needs. This not only enhances the gameday experience for fans with sensory needs but also promotes awareness and understanding of autism in a public setting.


      Karen Wilkins-Mickey, VP of DEI at the Seattle Seahawks will join me this week on 5 Things in 15 Minutes next week to talk about this story!

Call to Action:

Have you checked out Living Corporate? It's a Black-owned digital media network that centers and amplifies Black and brown folks at work. Check it out for some great podcasts and articles. 

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