Next Generation Leadership

Join DeEtta as she talks about one of her heroes and historical icon Malcolm X, the relevance of Black History for everyone, and why it's important to include "Black History" under the broader scope of “History."

For the life of me, I couldn’t find that damn tooth. Where could it have gone? The mob descended on us, on him, exactly where I was standing. I can’t believe I lost his tooth. It’s always felt like my fault. I’m clearly too Black to be with a white guy. Don’t you know your place, your lane? I’m clearly too white, with my blond-haired, blue-eyed mom and dad who marries white women. You talk like...

I wasn’t raised celebrating holidays but fell in love with them as an adult. Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness allowed such mixed blessings in my childhood. I was enveloped by the religion’s most earnest expressions of brotherly love. Worldly pursuits are unimportant to Witnesses; therefore, everyone around me was either poor or living modestly while abundant in faith, love, and generosity. My...

Only 13% of employees feel that their leaders are transparent in their communication. Organizations with transparent communication have 47% higher employee engagement. Only 17% of employees believe their organizations are transparent about decision-making processes. Are any of these statistics startling to you? Transparency is one of the most used words and requested acts by employees...

New York Times International Edition, November 11, headline reads Business leaders tread lightly on Gaza war. It goes on to explain why it is so difficult for leaders to comment on the lack of knowledge about the history of the conflict, the inability to point to one, and only one, clear victim, fear of appearing either antisemitic or Islamophobic, and concern about negative financial...

I have such mixed feelings about being a “DEI practitioner.” The label is too small, too narrow for our work. These three letters are consistently misunderstood, undervalued, and often lack alignment with real strategic impact on organizations. People with real power to make ongoing investments view the work of inclusion as “optional,” lacking a clean and immediate “ROI,” and “in addition to our...

On Saturday, October 7, Israel was attacked by Hamas. Since then, many have been glued to every sort of media, watching the narratives unfold. Bombings, death, tears, outrage, protests–a conflict that is distantly familiar to some, while frighteningly close to others. And this is a conflict deeply felt and genuinely steeped in complexity. Some of us have strongly held viewpoints while others...

The entire world is going through cultural transformation. Nothing is outside of the reach of these shifts — from centering environmental and social sustainability, large-scale cries for justice and systems-level disruption, to the major political clashes and swings happening within the United States, Colombia, and other countries. If the whole world is subject to this transformation, then so...

Last week I attended ColorComm, a conference for women of color in communications. It was hosted in the glamorous Ritz Carlton in Key Biscayne, FL. I was surrounded by breathtaking women from a variety of communications-related roles and representing organizations from McDonald’s and BET to Edelman and elected officials (can’t imagine being an elected official in Florida right now!). Presidents, ...