What IS the Key to Unity?
As I pondered this complex question, I found myself applying a simple Six Sigma methodology in hopes of arriving at a suitable answer.
The problem was already defined.
I quantified the various diversity classifications that subject people to discrimination: race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, mental or physical abilities, class, and level of education to name a few.
While analyzing it became glaringly clear that of all the things that make people different, for Black people, race is paramount.
1. Gender was subordinate when students were attacked for sitting at lunch counters.
2. Age wasn’t a factor when a teenage boy was murdered while playing in the park.
3. Being a Christian didn’t save the lives of nine people attending Bible Study.
4. A PhD won’t stop you from being pulled over by police in your own neighborhood.
So, for me, the key is to unite on the basis of that one thing that we all have in common…being Black.