Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Rural Oregon Rotary

(For reference, this is how TEN Rotary clubs from District 7610 chose to respond to George Floyd's murder and the Black Lives Matter movement: Opinion/ Letter to the Editor Northern Virginia Rotary clubs. Signed by District Governors and 10 Area Clubs.)

To: Unnamed Local Rotary Club President
From: Evelyn Wallace
10:30 a.m.
 
I just read about this kid from Hepner and I think he'd be a good addition to our speakers list, even if it's over zoom. Thoughts? ( Here's the link)
-SEW
 
To: Evelyn Wallace
From: Unnamed Local Rotary Club President
10:35 a.m.
 
Hi Evelyn,
Thank you for sharing this! This is something I’d probably prefer to get guidance on from the board to see if they feel it is an appropriate program for our club.
"Noah"
 
 
To: Unnamed Local Rotary Club President
From: Evelyn Wallace
10:44 a.m.
 
Appropriate how? Because he's a minor? Or because he's talking about white privilege? Do you seek the board's approval for all speakers? Didn't we agree as a club that one thing we could do was to include more guests to speak to the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion? Thanks!
-SEW
 
To: Evelyn Wallace
From: Unnamed Local Rotary Club President
11:23 a.m.
AND THEN BACK (in red)
To: Unnamed Local Rotary Club President
From: Evelyn Wallace

12:49 p.m.
 
(Message from "Noah" in black, Evy's responses in red)

Hi Evelyn!
As a club, we agreed to issue a public statement about racism broadly. We have also discussed the possibility of bringing in guest speakers to discuss all of those topics. That is true. But I don’t think that we have truly had a conversation about the most appropriate way to do that. So let me get this straight: we agreed to bring in guest speakers, but there's an appropriate and inappropriate way to do so?
 To be honest, we’re still very much trying to tackle the COVID situation and focus on our biggest priorities currently — maintaining our membership, finding new ways to meet so that our members stay active and interested, and trying to help the community as it continues to grapple with the pandemic. That’s not me running around the question. It is. The truth is that conversations like these require a lot of thought ahead of time, (dodge #1, “not now...we need more time”) and I don’t think that we should begin inviting people to speak to the club on this issue specifically until we’ve had more time to actually discuss what we’d like to get from those conversations (dodge #2 “we need more group input”). I also think it would make more sense to initiate that process when we can meet again regularly. (dodge #3 “we’ll discuss it when life is back to normal!”) I’m not trying to just push this off and down the road (you are), but I think this is too complex of a topic (dodge #4 “too complicated!" [implication being we aren't smart enough to address it?])  not to take adequate time learning from members about what they’re interested in accomplishing through those conversations and developing a solid plan to actually move forward (dodge #5 “we need to know the outcome of the conversation before we start the conversation”). If we don’t put solid thought into this with a lot of input from our members, I don’t believe it will go over well at all (dodge #6 “people will be upset”). It truly needs to be well planned. (repeat dodge #1)

For example, I believe it is important that we invite speakers who are not pushing a narrative/agenda or political ideas and concepts, but focus instead on presenters who may want to speak about their own experiences. (This is a fourteen-year-old boy speaking exactly of his own experience.) The link you sent me is a link (to a published letter to the editor, written by Hunter Houck from Hepner) to a person’s belief in the existence of white privilege (do you debate the existence of white privilege????). I think it’s awesome the young man is passionate about important issues! But he is also talking about white privilege as though it is a fact of life, and I know many members who would disagree, and who would frankly be quite unimpressed if this topic was presented to the club. This is an unacceptable thing to say for two reasons: 1) he is talking about white privilege because it is a fact of his life; it's a fact of yours, too  2) is our Rotary policy, then, to only bring in speakers who "many members" agree with? Is that how it works? Majority rules, four-way test be damned?! They may see it as an agenda-driven presentation that isn’t appropriate for Rotary (dodge #7 “it’s not the right venue to discuss racial injustice”) 

Those same individuals may be genuinely interested in hearing from people within minority communities in La Grande as they speak about their own experiences here (dodge #8, “Hepner isn’t local enough” AND dodge #9: "he's white, and we will only listen to people of color.") [context: Hepner is about 2 hours away, and in rural Eastern Oregon, that's almost as close as we get] . I’ll be honest (but aren’t we always?) in telling you that I think inviting this smart, motivated, and passionate young man to speak to our club would be pushing an agenda or concept on our members Tsk tsk, "Noah." This is bad leadership. Pushing back so hard against something “many” in our club apparently feel the same way about so that you can squelch a minority view, that’s just bad leadership. Remember when YOU were the guest speaker last year and talked about feeling silenced, as the minority, at your liberal arts college? It didn't feel good, did it. Many of whom may feel that it is entirely inappropriate. 

Finally, and most importantly, this gentleman has made this a very political discussion when he says “In Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, I would encourage you to vote for Alex Spenser.” "Noah", I think I need to explain something to you. Having made a public, political statement in one’s past does not disqualify that person from participating, as member, speaker, or, heck, even president in Rotary. Surely you on a very personal level can agree? [Context: "Noah" has worked in politics his entire career, and told us all about it when he himself was a lunchtime speaker.]

As an organization, we have time and again agreed that we are absolutely not going to be political in any way. This is clearly very political, and therefore would likely be viewed as inappropriate for our club. (Dodge #10 and the worst of them yet: “racial injustice is political, and therefore unequivocally untouchable by Rotary.”) 

We do not seek board approval for all speakers, no (Then this sure feels a lot like discrimination… It seems to me like if speakers pass the four-way test, we're golden) But this topic in particular is one that requires much more careful consideration than say an organic farmer, the local state champion football team, or someone from the school district. And why is that? Why do those speakers undergo a different process of scrutiny than this one?

Our membership may not believe that Rotary is the appropriate venue for this topic. (Dodge #11! "You can talk about racial injustice, but you have to go somewhere else.")

So given all those things that must be considered, I think it behooves me to discuss this with the board, yes. I’m sorry, but this is not a topic that is as easily presented to the club as is many of the others we’re used to seeing. That is the truest thing you’ve said. We are NOT used to seeing this and it IS difficult and uncomfortable. But that doesn’t mean it can be silenced, or kicked down the road, or rejected outright. Additionally, it is incredibly political Wrong! Wrong, wrong, WRONG. Wrong AND damaging. — something that ordinarily would disqualify it completely. It’s a complex conversation and one that is clearly a hot button topic for many of our members. It absolutely requires board consideration. 
 
I sincerely appreciate you reaching out to me about the many different things you do. Thanks! We have an in-person meeting tomorrow. Please do feel welcome to join us. I meant to come last week, but my three-month-old son had other plans. Hopefully I’ll be seeing you tomorrow! 
"Noah"

14-year-old Houck wrote a letter to the editor, published in East Oregonian, about his acknowledgment that there are things in his life that are easier because he is white, and what role he can play as a white man in the racial justice movement. Seen here holding a reptile, his favorite!

Racism in Rotary