“The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.” Hey, don’t leave me hanging, LOTR fans! Galadriel spoke these haunting words at the opening of "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," and these words have been rattling around my mind as I try to put my finger on a shift. Maybe you feel it too? Let’s back it up, and I’ll explain. 

 

Back in late March, financial expert and television host Suze Orman delivered an annual conference keynote for NASPA, one of the nation’s top professional associations for student affairs professionals. Her talk was most certainly meant to inspire attendees to overcome their obstacles to wealth, specifically, “fear, shame and anger.” It fell miserably short of the goal, ignorantly equating “net worth” to “self-worth” and ignoring the role of inequitable and unjust systems that have (and still) block many people from attaining generational wealth. A few hours after the keynote came the apology.

As the 2020 founder of a deliberately diverse speakers bureau, Flock Theory, and a longtime leader inside membership organizations responsible for conferences and events, this series of events drew my attention for a number of reasons. Was Suze Orman always tone deaf on equity? Could NASPA have seen this coming?

 

Here’s the thing. Orman didn’t wake up one day and get brand new, and she’s not stupid. This wasn’t the first time she referred to the South Side of Chicago, where she grew up, as "the hood" and "the ghetto." She isn’t different. We, the people, are different. 

 

We’re tired of excuses and diversity theater. When I learned about NASPA’s ordeal with Orman, my heart broke for them. I spoke with thought leader and speaker Lazetta Rainey Braxton, MBA, CFP, to see if we could help. She’s the co-CEO of 2050 Wealth Partners, and said, "It is refreshing to see GenZ and younger millennials demand cultural competency and courage, even when it comes to personal finance. Baby Boomer Suze Orman no longer can rest on the laurels of her financial empire, which presupposed a level playing field with building and transferring wealth." 

 

In the year 2021, Braxton agrees it’s reasonable to expect speakers to know better. Words and actions have consequences, whether intentional or not. The change I’m seeing is that overt and covert bias that used to go unchecked is getting checked more and more often. Hard, in the paint, in real time. As LeVar Burton told "The View," it’s not "cancel culture" but consequence culture. And, like seeing Burton host "Jeopardy," I’m here for it! 

 

It’s not enough that Orman didn’t intend to center whiteness so offensively or that she’s given that talk so many times before without issue. Developing self-awareness and knowledge as it pertains to experiences of others in her domain of expertise is work no one can do for her. She must intend not to exclude people in her audience. Don’t know where to start with identifying inclusive speakers for your events? Diversifying your circle of friends, colleagues and suppliers will help.

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The MPI Potomac Chapter Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Committee is committed to bringing you relevant topics, and our DE&I System and Roadmap. To learn more about our DEI Initiative, please visit us at www.mpi.org/chapters/potomac/media-resources/diversity-inclusion or contact our co-chairs: Anjali Sanghvi, anjalisanghvi@gmail.com or Joan Aiken, jmaiken22@msn.com.

_{The views expressed by our guest writers are their opinions and not necessarily those of MPI Potomac.}