DULUTH, Ga.–Four people of color who work within credit unions have shared their thoughts on what it is they “really want.”
Their insights were shared while participating as panelists during the opening session of the five-part “Commitment to Change Conversation Series” being hosted virtually by the African American Credit Union Coalition this week.
Their responses came following a question from keynote speaker, Jai Dei Jackson, a licensed professional counselor, who asked, “As a person of color, what do you want?”
Here’s what they had to say:
Re’Aunna Armstrong, Farmers Insurance FCU: “I would say I want compassion. The first thing people see is the color of our skin. I feel if we all had more compassion to understand the person, their heart, who they are, that’s how we can see change.”
Eric Gibbs, Sr., Chicago Post Office Employees CU: “I think I want us to become more organized when we protest, versus rioting and looting. There will be more instances that happen, and we need to be more strategic.”
Solynn McCurdy, BECU: “I want to be seen. I don’t only want to be seen on your terms, or when you want to appropriate my culture or you need to process your fragility, or when you need a DEI or community engagement strategy, and then you make it hard to do that strategy. I need you to be real about the (Black Lived) experience. And to Eric’s point, for people of color and particularly Black people, I would like to see us more proactive in the things that will take us further, having a bigger political strategy than just getting people to vote.”
Wesley Williams, Valley Star CU: “This is a tough question. What I want is perspective. I want people to really try, try as hard as you can, to look at other perspectives. Practically, it means examining the language you use when talking to people of color, examining the communication methods and how it may come across. Even walking into some credit union buildings—what does the imagery in those buildings reflect? I think on the flip side I’m going to give you that in return. If we see someone is willing to listen to our perspective and try to sympathize—I understand empathy is very difficult—but you can sympathize and say, ‘I want to know your perspective so it not only helps me in my individual life so I can take it back to my family, my place of work, and can say, ‘Hey guys, I think we’re missing something here and need to do a shift in how we think.’’