ABSTRACT
While preparing for a visit to a client in the Midwest, I had several conversations with people who work in that institution. Some of those calls focused on what topics I should and should not raise and how I could connect with those with whom I was working so that they would hang in for the conversation. Could I use the “d” word—diversity? No, they were sick of it. What about “inclusion”? That would be fine, but most of the people here don’t really know what it means. And, most importantly, what about the “w” word—white? Finally the dean who had invited me, himself a person of color, said, “Be careful, Francie. Remember this is the Midwest, and we have to live here after you’ve gone.”
