“Diversity”

"Diversity” has actually come to mean, well, what it means. It no longer is used to describe having one or two people of color in the room, or to not having any people of color in the room but counting diversity as the one dude with a "funny name."

In this new America, “diversity” means having a truly broad range of identities intrinsically involved in the process, decision making and face of any group, company, corporation or organized entity. Companies, schools and organizations are actually taking note of the entire range of people they have on their staff, in their classrooms, etc. They also seem to realize that creating a truly diverse environment is not about being “politically correct” (a term I haven’t heard used once in this new America) but rather that it increases the experience for all involved on an intellectual, emotional and strategic level.

Now, when people say "we value diversity” they don’t just mean that on page 146 of their human resource book it says "we value diversity," but that they actually put the words into action. People are actually chiding themselves for missing one or another group, or for having “only” one person of a certain race. I haven’t heard anyone call someone “less qualified” or complain about how their uncle got passed over for a job because of a company's diversity policy. Instead they say "there are plenty of jobs to go around," and talk about how much their uncle loves his new job working with all of his fellow countrymen. People even recognize that people of color bring more than “a different perspective” to the workplace but that we bring actual knowledge, information, education, and skills.

This might be my favorite part of post-race America. If one more person referred to me as a “diverse individual” I was going to vomit. That's not even grammatically correct.