Marlin Williams

A major example of being deliberate and thinking outside the box is the partnership between Google and Howard University to set up a satellite campus at Google’s headquarters in an effort to bring more African American computer science students into the tech industry. Having served as a Chief Diversity Officer for many years, I definitely understand first hand that unless Diversity and Inclusion initiatives are formulated by a group diverse in thought, race, gender, experience, etc., the strategy will more than likely fail. Left unchecked, organizations will continue to formulate and believe the excuse,  “We tried to hire diverse candidates, however we just couldn’t find qualified women or people of color to fill the positions”. If you are a person of color or woman and have a seat at the table, and are afraid to speak up (it’s OK –

October 2014, 17-Year old high school senior, Billy Watts, Jr.’s documented his life and death on social media. I didn’t know Billy personally, but when I was alerted to view his social media timeline before his death, I felt immediately connected to him. I felt as if he were my child, I felt a pain that was unbearable which lead me to write a blog post about Billy’s death. Many of Billy’s friends felt a sense of guilt as they “liked” the photos preceding his death, without understanding that he was crying out for help and many adults felt helpless as they attempted to navigate the world of social media so passionately used by teens.

The table should include diversity of thought, race, gender, socio-economic status, and people who personally understand how the lack of access to technology shows up in the neighborhood and how it ultimately affects the community. These weren’t “bad inner city children” (sidebar: we must not be quick to stereotype and consciously challenge our unconscious bias), these were students who merely needed some insight and someone to convey that it’s OK not to know and that not knowing does not translate into being dumb! I came, I remember what it felt like to be educated in inadequate facilities, I’ve felt the embarrassment  of “not knowing” as much as my  peers as it related to technology, I will not belittle the feeling of sometimes being the only woman and woman of color with a seat at the tech table, I will continue to unapologetically defend women, ethnic minorities, the underserved community, and ANYONE when I’m privy to conversations that act as if the aforementioned groups aren’t real people with concerns that matter, all with the understanding that I too have a responsibility to effectuate change. Although my circumstances have changed, I will continue to ask questions, start conversations, search for answers and implement things that will help and most of all remember that I am every day people here to empower and give voice to every day people.

I thought of this last year and it worked for me, so I feel safe sharing it with you. You will find that it will be much easier to write goals that are aligned with your statement and eliminate goals that may be things you feel obligated to do but aren’t truly in your heart, and simply look good on paper. My intent and purpose is to motivate, empower, inspire, educate, mobilize, and give back, so I truly hope this helps someone to take the angst out of goal planning and to empower you to make this process your own personal journey. SO very excited about experiencing God’s radical favor and the amazing things that are waiting me in 2016 Looking forward to sharing the journey!