6522: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 11.

Question: OK, I confess. I’m culturally clueless. So how can I become less clueless—where can I get a clue or two?

Answer: Congratulations. You’ve taken the biggest step by admitting you have a problem. Most adpeople afflicted by cultural cluelessness go through their entire professional lives denying the symptoms, or remaining completely oblivious to the infirmities.

Alas, there’s no easy answer to this query. You can begin by reviewing the previous Culturally Clueless FAQs. Then consider the following brainstorm of suggestions.

Lots of folks believe the solution to the global dilemma involves educating minorities. So they’ll launch programs to school schoolkids, college students and mid-level executives. This is all good and fine and necessary. But maybe it’s time to create curriculum for the culturally clueless. This audience clearly needs education and enlightenment. Let’s bus the Whites to Morehouse and Howard University for some serious immersion.

For those more inclined to study at home, regularly check out these online tutorials:

The Big Tent
The Franklin Blog
The Future Is Bright
Kiss My Black Ads
Knock The Hustle
Madison Ave New
The Marcus Graham Project
Mi Blog Es Tu Blog
Prostituted Thoughts
Racialicious
The Root
Sociological Images: Seeing Is Believing

(The sources noted above are only a sampling. Apologies to everyone not mentioned.)

There are endless educational opportunities. Catch the latest Tyler Perry movie. Attend a diversity job fair. Peruse Essence or Latina. Read Michael Eric Dyson or Cornel West. Support a minority-owned business. Nearly every major newspaper features cultural columnists—start scanning their perspectives. Examine multicultural marketing projects. Listen to recording artists beyond Josh Groban.

While many of these recommendations are Black-focused, don’t limit your training. Be diverse. The idea is to step outside of your cultural comfort zone. Get a clue.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6499: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 10.

Question: Wait a minute. I’m seeing diversity job fairs, minority youth outreach programs, chief diversity officer appointments, multicultural consultant groups, people of color award shows and more. So what’s the problem?

Answer: First of all, any effort to bring diversity to Madison Avenue deserves serious kudos. Yet the things mentioned above come with controversies too. For example, Sanford Moore can be debated on one point only, which he discussed in a recent interview with Advertising Age:

Ad Age: You’ve called chief diversity officers “pimps.” Why?

Mr. Moore: Let’s call them diversity parasites. They do nothing to help. If they do any good, where are the black executives in the organizations that they’re hired to? Besides themselves, who else is there?

The diversity officers, I mean they’re window dressing. They don’t have power, they can’t hire. But it’s not just diversity officers. It’s lawyers and diversity consultants and people that feed off of the exclusion to black people. It’s like blood diamonds. These people profit off of the blood that black people have spent trying to break into and achieve success on Madison Avenue. They do nothing to help. They just get paid to run interference, to create meaningless dialogue.

On certain levels, Moore makes a lot of sense. These observations were even touched upon in Culturally Clueless FAQ Number 8.

At the same time, it’s not fair or right to make a sweeping condemnation, as there are surely individuals igniting tremendous progress in such roles. The chief diversity officers, consultants, youth outreach program coordinators, job fair organizers and others should be saluted versus chastised. Let’s presume they are doing the best possible jobs under the toughest of circumstances.

However, MultiCultClassics humbly suggests positioning the true dilemma with a different term: Delegating Diversity.

Delegating Diversity happens when advertising executives (primarily Whites) dump all the responsibility for change on associates (primarily minorities). While the executives appear to be supportive—and likely view themselves as engaged—they are actually washing their hands of the mess. Assigning the heavy lifting to somebody else. Essentially hiding beneath their desks. These folks are the parasites.

As MultiCultClassics has stated repeatedly, diversity demands diversity. Everyone must be fully committed and fully involved. Segregating the players will lead to, well, segregation. Don’t shoot the soldiers fighting for improvements. Turn the guns back on the people lounging in the bunker. Draft the whole freaking industry into service.

So here’s the answer to the original question. You’re seeing diversity job fairs, minority youth outreach programs, chief diversity officer appointments, multicultural consultant groups, people of color award shows and more—but you’re not doing anything. That’s the damned problem.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6487: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 9.

Question: During my gazillion decades in the business, I have never witnessed a single instance of racism. People are hired for their talent. Period. How can you possibly accuse me of being a racist?

Answer: On Madison Avenue, racism is such a polarizing concept. And it seems as if calling someone a racist is the offensive equivalent of using the N-word.

Yet most veteran adfolks insisting they’ve not seen one example of discrimination also admit they’ve not seen one minority in an executive position. There’s something screwy going on here.

We could split hairs by opting for terms like exclusionary or culturally clueless. Additionally, you could read MultiCultClassics’ inaugural essay to identify the various types of bias. Some might argue the global dilemma is not race-related at all; rather, it involves outdated and limited recruitment practices. But ultimately, whether the mess is rooted in faulty processes or blissful ignorance or hardcore hatred, the end result remains the same. Everyone recognizes the dearth of diversity. Plus, liberals and bigots alike are quick to admit, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

So get to work. Put aside the CSI equipment and quit worrying about the causes. Stop labeling each other with nasty presumptions. Move beyond obsessing over the mistakes that got us to this place.

Focus on generating and executing solutions instead. It’s time to realize creating diversity demands, well, diversity. Everyone must collectively commit to laboring together.

Change and progress should not be so difficult to achieve. Unless, of course, you’re a stone-cold racist.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6484: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 8.

Question: Why should I get involved—Isn’t diversity the responsibility of Human Resources Directors and Chief Diversity Officers?

Answer: Bringing diversity to the advertising industry is a monumental endeavor, and success demands that everyone actively participates in the process.

Let’s be honest. HR Directors and CDOs have never made the final calls on new employees. These professionals certainly play critical roles in the drama, but the rest of us probably have greater responsibilities.

Ad executives with hiring authority must ensure that all searches push for candidates beyond the standard talent pool. Don’t fall back on routine submissions from the same headhunters. Stop limiting the quest to individuals from specific schools or agencies. Resist the urge to recruit clones.

HR Directors and CDOs can aid in the effort. However, the people with the last word should be the first to fight for inclusion.

Passing the buck is just plain irresponsible. Cowardly too.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6480: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 7.

Question: My agency is headquartered in Whiteville, USA. How can I be expected to hire colored people where none exist?

Answer: This seemingly legitimate question surfaces often. Additionally, even advertising executives in diverse, metropolitan areas recite a similar and related statement: I simply don’t see many and/or any minority candidates.

The truth is, adfolks in Whiteville, USA must pretty much do the same things as those in places like New York.

The answers are partly tied to Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 6. Take a moment to review it.

First, it’s imperative that we rethink the traditional recruitment strategies. The search cannot always begin and end with our own Rolodexes and personal cultural comfort zones. Venturing outside of our time zones is possible too, as the lousy economy is encouraging everyone to consider moving. Location, location, location is no longer an excuse, excuse, excuse.

Forget where you land in Rand McNally. Determine where you’re positioned on the Darwinian chart. That is, how evolved is your corporate culture? Is your shop progressive and inviting? Do you encourage a variety of perspectives and experiences? Have you created an environment that thrives on the diversity of ideas—and the idea of diversity? Stop blaming your address and start addressing the necessary renovations to prepare your enterprise for life in the 21st century.

The candidates are out there. You just need to completely open your eyes, your minds and your agency’s doors.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6476: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 6.

Question: Isn’t it possible that Blacks simply aren’t interested in pursuing an advertising career?

Answer: This question often arises when people try to explain the dearth of dark-skinned professionals on Madison Avenue. The rationale includes suggesting the industry’s low entry-level salaries turn off Blacks, steering them towards more lucrative fields. You know, like rap music and the NBA.

Sorry, the basic premise just doesn’t compute. Let’s realize that U.S. Blacks continue to lag behind Whites in annual income. So if Blacks are indeed hunting for flashier gigs, well, they’re failing miserably.

Then again, if you consider Adland’s meager starting paychecks—and combine the findings of the Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants, Inc. report that revealed Blacks in advertising receive 20 percent less loot than Whites—then a higher-paying position even awaits at Mickey D’s. Perhaps that explains everything. The majority of potential Black ad executives chose Big Macs over Big Ideas. Quick, somebody tell Messrs. Moore and Mehri they’ve made a massive mistake.

All jokes aside, the original question is akin to asking, “Which came first, the chicken with its ass plucked clean or the egg?” Did the dearth precede the discrimination or vice versa? In this case, let’s admit it’s a no-brainer. The lack of Blacks isn’t the result of alternative opportunities; but rather, unattractive opportunities on Madison Avenue rooted in exclusivity.

At this point, the industry needs to completely overhaul its traditional recruitment tactics. Don’t count on Blacks staging The Great Migration to Mad Ave. Now we must find ways to persuade the historically rejected to buy our brand of business careers.

Titanium Lions and Gold Pencils await the adfolks capable of creating such a campaign.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6460: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 5.

Question: How can I hire minorities without lowering my standards?

Answer: First of all, the question displays incredible ignorance—on an infinite number of levels. In order to keep this post shorter than Tolstoy’s War and Peace, we’ll only hit the major points.

No one has been asked to even consider hiring inferior talent. Ever. Rather, the goal is to broaden employers’ perspectives. To encourage managers to look beyond the same tired, limited, monochromatic pool of usual suspects. It’s about finding the best possible person for the job. Period.

To presume that minorities are inadequate in any way, shape or form is biased, bigoted bullshit. If you have asked this question—or just thought it in your miniscule mind—you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. You are directly responsible for the exclusivity and discrimination so prevalent in our industry.

Regarding the mythical standards so many profess to embrace, try surveying the landscape at your current shop. How many employees landed their roles by meeting or exceeding exacting prerequisites versus slipping under the radar thanks to nepotism, cronyism, favoritism and other assorted isms?

Hackneyed entertainment vehicles reflecting the ad agency world openly expose the recruiting tactics commonly executed. Who’s zooming who?

In closing, you’re cordially invited to review a classic rant on the subject.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6453: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 4.

Question: Isn’t Cyrus Mehri just another opportunistic bottom feeder in the Jesse Jackson / Al Sharpton tradition?

Answer: It’s always interesting—yet never surprising—to see individuals who protest injustices branded as bottom feeders. Then again, facing off with Madison Avenue on these issues does require lowering yourself to nasty depths.

Regardless, it’s important to recognize key differences between Mehri and Messrs. Jackson and Sharpton.

Despite occasional forays into advertising industry affairs, Jackson and Sharpton are ultra-outsiders. (Although rumors claim Black-owned agency executives told Jackson to back off when he offered to wage battles in the past.) While the two clearly understand things like exclusion and discrimination, they’re corporately clueless, at least when it comes to the ad agency business. In contrast, Mehri has done his homework. The Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants, Inc. report is nearly flawless in its examination of the inner dealings on Madison Avenue. The AAF and 4A’s couldn’t have produced a more factual, accurate document.

Additionally, the tactics employed by Jackson and Sharpton have possibly lost effectiveness over the years. One could argue that Jackson especially often resorted to intimidation that played on White guilt. Mehri, on the other hand, seeks to intimidate by proving Whites are guilty.

Advantage Mehri.

As for being opportunistic, well, let’s really consider the term. Remember, this battle has been plodding along since the 1930s. Madison Avenue has had plenty of opportunities to address matters for about 80 years. It’s not as if Mehri seized upon the moment, catching people unaware. The truth is, industry leaders have been opportunistic by perpetuating the problems via apathy and worse. Maybe we should all see this as an opportunity to create positive change.

If Mehri manages to take this drama to a courtroom, we can’t wait to learn whom Madison Avenue will call upon to defend. Even Denny Crane would take a pass on it.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6437: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 3.

Question: Doesn’t President Barack Obama prove we don’t have to pursue this diversity stuff anymore?

Answer: Why do certain individuals view President Barack Obama as some form of reparations—as if his election pays off the bar tab of bias Madison Avenue has amassed over the years?

President Obama symbolizes a major milestone in racial progress. Madison Avenue represents a serious setback in cultural evolution.

President Obama assembles a staff reflecting the vibrant variety of brilliance in America. Madison Avenue collects excuses like, “We can’t find qualified minority candidates.”

President Obama signs his first bill in support of equal pay. Madison Avenue signs diversity pacts and is exposed for paying Blacks 20 percent less than Whites.

President Obama proves change is possible. Madison Avenue shows resistance to change is possible.

By all means, let’s hold up President Obama as the one to revere. But let’s also recognize Madison Avenue as the one to reform.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6433: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 2.

Question: Given the tanking economy and widespread advertising agency layoffs, isn’t this the absolute worst possible time imaginable to wage a diversity war?

Answer: Oh, there are worse timings one could imagine. Like during a supernova, or at the moment of Armageddon. Try to keep matters in perspective. As noted on numerous posts, the battle first erupted in the 1930s. Madison Avenue has seen lots of catastrophic occurrences over that period. We shouldn’t let the probability of a total economic collapse prevent progress.

Besides, it’s actually easier to ignore the issues in good times. When jobs are plentiful and the corporate coffers overflow, advertising executives feel less obligated to make diversity a priority. But when your shop is teetering on financial ruin, well, the prospect of Cyrus Mehri seizing gobs of cash certainly grabs your attention.

Other considerations loom large too. The ad business is experiencing seismic shifts right now. The old ways are being abandoned. The old hierarchies are being redrafted. The old business models are being shattered. The grizzled cynics proclaim, “The ad biz as we know it is OVER.” The seasoned veterans are in the process of Reinventing Advertising. Everyone foresees a brand new day. Even the culturally clueless aren’t completely clueless.

So while Madison Avenue is undergoing an extreme makeover, why not fight to ensure diversity becomes a part of the foundation? This could be the absolute best possible time imaginable.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

6425: Culturally Clueless FAQs—Number 1.

Change has come to America. But it took a detour around Madison Avenue. While citizens have adopted phrases like “post-racial,” the advertising industry operates in a pre-Civil Rights time warp. Whenever the topics of diversity and inclusion appear, ad executives consistently display stunning ignorance. MultiCultClassics has sought to address the issues in the past. However, the matters have evolved along with society, despite Madison Avenue’s retarded development. As a public service, this blog will answer a series of Frequently Asked Questions to enlighten the asses… er, masses.

Question: Why do all the diversity discussions focus on Blacks—what about Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, People With Disabilities, Gays, Lesbians, Women, Veterans, Older Employees, Pit Bull Lovers, Mutants and The Rest Of Us?

Answer: Get in line. Unfortunately, the deeper you dig into Madison Avenue’s corporate closet, the more skeletons you’ll find. Recent years have seen work and deeds demeaning everyone listed above, including a Jewish creative director allegedly sexually harassed by a neo-Japanese warlord.

Blacks are in the spotlight for a few reasons. First, the group has been officially fighting for change since the 1930s. To understand the details, read Madison Avenue and the Color Line by Jason Chambers. The author presents a fair and frank documentation of events, showing the successes and failures to date. Additionally, the New York City Commission on Human Rights’ latest efforts have been led by New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook and activist Sanford Moore, who are strongly pushing a predominately Black agenda. Finally, attorney Cyrus Mehri is building a class-action lawsuit focused on the inequities Blacks seemingly always face in the ad game.

However, it’s important to realize the real battle is not being waged exclusively for any single group. The Bendick and Egan Economic Consultants, Inc. report stated the following:

Although this paper focuses on African Americans, the same issues of employment bias in the advertising industry simultaneously affect other “outgroups” -- race-ethnic minorities such as Latinos and Asians; women; older workers; persons with disabilities; and even White males who do not share the cultural or stylistic characteristics of the White males who dominate the industry. These other groups would benefit alongside African Americans from a reformed, inclusive advertising industry culture. This broad potential enhances the urgency of addressing the problems raised in this report -- and addressing them in effective ways.

In closing, a recent story published at AdAge.com inspired this comment:

I find a couple of things interesting. To think that addressing the evident discrimination of Blacks in advertising won’t benefit the other discriminatory issues in advertising is naïve. Nearly all of the fights for equality use the struggle of Blacks in history and especially the Civil Rights Movement as their standard. While I applaud the office of Chief Diversity Officer in its motives, I think it is a shame that any company or industry has to have someone in charge of doing what is right by people. The idea of respectful accountability should be a tenet of leadership. Instead, someone has to be paid to make sure that a company is exhausting all recruiting resources to look for the best talent, which, in my opinion, is hiring smart people (they come in all colors, genders, orientations, etc.) with a good work ethic, who never tire of learning. Someone is paid to make sure everyone is treated with respect from recruiting through their tenure with the company. It is a shame that someone has to tell my company we need to pay and promote fairly. It is a shame that the integrity in how we treat each other has to be regulated, mandated and disguised. While we may not have control of ensuring respect in society at large, I would like to think in a corporate structure that respect is such an intrinsic part of the company culture and values, that there is no need for a Chief Diversity Officer. I will go further into diversity blasphemy by stating that I would do away with the word “diversity” and all of the affinity groups having lunch and going to happy hours. My company statement would be simple: “We treat everyone with respect.” This is the plumb line for all we do. It captures every issue of diversity and beyond. It would solve the issue of this group being left out or feeling this or that. Now that this is off my chest, I understand my views are idealistic, but I also know it would work. Who will be the first to make a stand against diversity and promote true respect to the point where a Chief Diversity Officer is a position of the past?