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THE PACE TO THE POLLS: REMEMBERING SELMA
Just 55 years ago, several demonstrations were held by civil rights activists to end discrimination, specifically within the voter registration process, so that African Americans could vote. At the time in Selma, Alabama, only 2.1% of the black population was registered
to vote. A demonstration where 26-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot while defending his mother
from being beaten by two Alabama State troopers inspired over 600 people to start walking. It was a 50- mile, 3-day trek from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, crossing the Alabama
River and through the rural country-side. Men, women and youth were stricken with Billy-clubs, confronted with tear gas, trampled by horses and some nearly beaten
beyond consciousness. The assault on the non-violent activists resulted in over
50 demonstrators being hospitalized, including at the time SNCC Chairmen, and now Congressman, John Lewis. 13-year-old participant Joanne Bland, one of the last living survivors of the Civil Rights movement and key figures, witnessed marchers being beaten as they fled the mob of assailants. Television news crews stood aside capturing this brutal assault on the peaceful protestors. Notably, ABC Network interrupted its telecast on
the prosecuting of Nazi war criminal’s special presentation so that the nation could witness this massacre on humanity, which would forever be known as Bloody Sunday.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, JOANNE BLAND VISITS LANSING
The Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted Joanne Bland, Civil rights activist at the Kellogg Center on Feburary 11.
Bland, who credits her grandmother with inspiring her to participate in the civil rights movement, has been a witness and participant in some of the nation’s most significant civil rights battles. Bland marched with Martin Luther King Jr., as well as alongside 600 peaceful protesters on "Bloody Sunday."
As a child, Bland joined
the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,
a student-led organization that used nonviolent tactics to push for voting rights and desegregation. By the time she was 11, Bland had been arrested 13 times.
At 13, Bland became one of seven students to integrate the all-white A.G. Parrish High School in Selma.
Bland reflected on her experience in the Selma march that is known as the “Bloody Sunday.”
MARCH: WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
On March 11, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DE&I) hosted a guest speaker, Laurie Morse- Dell, in honor of Women’s History Month at the REO Depot facility. Ms. Morse-Dell delved into the "Broken Rung" - Key Findings from Women in the Workplace 2019 Report. The “Broken Rung,” has been identified as the biggest obstacle women face on the path to senior leadership, at the first step up to manager.
For every 100 men promoted and hired to manager, only
72 women are promoted and hired. This broken rung results in more women getting stuck at the entry level, and fewer women becoming managers. This early inequality has a long-term impact on the talent pipeline. Since men significantly outnumber women at the manager level, there are significantly fewer women to hire or promote to senior managers. The number of women decreases at every subsequent level. So even as hiring and promotion rates improve for women at senior levels, women as a whole can never catch up.
The following 5 steps can fix the broken rung:
• Set a goal for getting more
women into first-level management
• Require diverse slates for hiring and promotion
• Putevaluatorsthrough unconscious bias training
• Establish clear evaluation criteria
• Put more women in line for the step up to manager
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