Unconscious Regional Incivility: A Threat to Diversity

Extract

Introduction

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Stereotypes, biases, incivilities, bullying, harassment, discrimination, and all other injustices founded in human inequality and tribalism can have profound individual level physiological negative ramifications, as well as group level sociological toxic consequences. The current tinderbox atmosphere engulfing the United States is largely driven by racial tensions rooted in historic U.S. slavery and stoked by the recent controversial deaths of African Americans Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Although not a new movement, the current groundswell racial movement is multifaceted, yet tightly bound to the defilement of the intrinsic human right—equality. Considering the large degree to which human equality now holds the spotlight, it feels like an appropriate moment to discuss a rarely mentioned cousin issue that is an important consideration within conversations regarding diversity and inclusion in the fisheries profession—regional bias.

I was raised in the southern Appalachian Mountains, in the small town of Black Mountain near Asheville, North Carolina. In the mid to late 1900s, Black Mountain's population was comprised of white and African American conservative Christians, liberal folk artists, and to a lesser degree, white racists. During the mid 1980s, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) held a parade in downtown Black Mountain. With time, a child's memories fade; however, I can still hear the deep, slow singing, see the white, green, and purple robes, smell the flag toting horses, and feel my small hand holding my father's. During the parade, downtown streets were deliberately deserted, businesses were strategically closed, and sidewalks were literally empty as Black Mountain's citizens cohesively turned their backs on the KKK. During the parade, a local news reporter interviewed my father asking him, “Do you support this parade?” My father promptly answered, “Of course! I support the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; however, I do not share or support the KKK's beliefs.” My father continued, “My wife and I have brought our two young sons to this parade to witness racism. To know right, you must also know wrong.” I never forgot my father's lesson from that day; that light must be shown on bigotry, so that it can be observed, shared, known, and condemned by all; otherwise, ignorance encourages such abhorrent prejudices to linger, grow, and spread.