1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:12,340 --> 00:00:16,320 So I'm earlier in my career when I was 3 00:00:16,590 --> 00:00:20,240 probably you five . Underway was the 4 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:23,580 only black man , the cutter . You know , 5 00:00:23,590 --> 00:00:25,757 we went out in the town after work and 6 00:00:25,757 --> 00:00:28,420 get to the place , and I want to say a 7 00:00:28,420 --> 00:00:31,880 little early music stops and and I was 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:33,991 the center of attention . This is a a 9 00:00:33,991 --> 00:00:36,158 small town in North Carolina where the 10 00:00:36,158 --> 00:00:39,110 problem was no minorities around . And , 11 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,120 uh , you know , we sit down , man , 12 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,287 about six of our shipmates when we sit 13 00:00:43,287 --> 00:00:46,360 down . But I never really felt I never . 14 00:00:46,370 --> 00:00:49,060 And as the night progressed , minute by 15 00:00:49,060 --> 00:00:52,690 minute pointing , you know , just the 16 00:00:52,690 --> 00:00:55,640 words that the crowd was saying , I 17 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,862 decided that it was time for me to go . 18 00:00:57,862 --> 00:01:00,940 Um , it was very , very racist terms 19 00:01:00,940 --> 00:01:03,190 very , very derogatory stuff . And , 20 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,422 you know , I had a decision to make . I 21 00:01:05,422 --> 00:01:07,311 could stay in this concern into a 22 00:01:07,311 --> 00:01:09,422 really bad situation or be subject to 23 00:01:09,422 --> 00:01:11,700 this type of behavior , Or I can leave . 24 00:01:11,700 --> 00:01:13,922 I told my shipmates Hey , I'm gonna get 25 00:01:13,922 --> 00:01:16,089 out of here . They knew what was going 26 00:01:16,089 --> 00:01:18,033 on on . My shipmates said , Okay , 27 00:01:18,033 --> 00:01:20,610 we'll see you back at the boat . A zai 28 00:01:20,610 --> 00:01:23,400 walked back to the boat by myself . All 29 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,230 I could think about was how I would 30 00:01:26,230 --> 00:01:29,750 never trust white men again . My 31 00:01:29,750 --> 00:01:31,917 shipmates were supposed to be here for 32 00:01:31,917 --> 00:01:35,460 me . Um , they just left me , even if 33 00:01:35,460 --> 00:01:37,682 they didn't even support the business . 34 00:01:37,682 --> 00:01:39,904 You know , they just I felt abandoned . 35 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,420 Uh , you know , and I shut down . I 36 00:01:43,420 --> 00:01:46,380 didn't talk much . It kind of it kind 37 00:01:46,380 --> 00:01:48,990 of put a , you know , a damper on me , 38 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,750 and and you could tell them my demeanor . 39 00:01:51,750 --> 00:01:54,090 But what comes out of that is now , you 40 00:01:54,090 --> 00:01:56,146 know , the black guy , right ? And I 41 00:01:56,146 --> 00:01:58,368 was never angry . I've just heard I was 42 00:01:58,368 --> 00:02:01,430 abandoned . I felt , um I felt like , 43 00:02:01,620 --> 00:02:03,820 you know , six people that should have 44 00:02:03,820 --> 00:02:07,070 been there for you Work . Uh , but I 45 00:02:07,070 --> 00:02:09,292 also have some responsibility because I 46 00:02:09,292 --> 00:02:11,850 never told them No , I think if I would 47 00:02:11,850 --> 00:02:13,880 have maybe say , Hey , man , I'm 48 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:15,991 getting out . Here's how I fill you . 49 00:02:15,991 --> 00:02:18,550 Didn't you know , walk out with you ? 50 00:02:18,550 --> 00:02:20,660 Didn't take a stand and leave ? Um , 51 00:02:21,340 --> 00:02:23,396 this is how it made me feel . And in 52 00:02:23,396 --> 00:02:25,562 impacted not only our friendship , but 53 00:02:25,562 --> 00:02:27,784 it impacted the work environment . Uh , 54 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:29,750 it really , really put a bad 55 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,390 environment around . We eventually 56 00:02:33,390 --> 00:02:36,050 changed CEOs and I told him this story 57 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:39,640 because of the leader that he is , he , 58 00:02:39,650 --> 00:02:43,050 uh he gave me the ability to start 59 00:02:43,050 --> 00:02:45,580 gaining , uh , trusting anybody other 60 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:49,260 than that wasn't a black person . And 61 00:02:49,270 --> 00:02:51,492 that's difficult because you still live 62 00:02:51,492 --> 00:02:53,714 on that ship with guys . You still live 63 00:02:53,714 --> 00:02:55,881 in that crew , and you still got a job 64 00:02:55,881 --> 00:02:58,048 to do , all right . And I think that's 65 00:02:58,048 --> 00:03:00,214 a conversation would have changed that 66 00:03:00,214 --> 00:03:02,437 I would have never had to feel that way 67 00:03:02,437 --> 00:03:04,603 had I opened my mouth and told him how 68 00:03:04,603 --> 00:03:06,826 I was really showing , you know , maybe 69 00:03:06,826 --> 00:03:08,826 sometimes you just don't know . You 70 00:03:08,826 --> 00:03:08,450 don't know what you don't know , right ? 71 00:03:09,340 --> 00:03:12,410 So I did go back to the ship and I told 72 00:03:12,420 --> 00:03:16,170 the story , and , uh , the ship 73 00:03:16,170 --> 00:03:18,420 had one African American on it right 74 00:03:18,420 --> 00:03:21,450 now is it is . And what I will say is 75 00:03:21,450 --> 00:03:25,350 that the the crew 76 00:03:26,140 --> 00:03:29,290 cringe so much they were like Mr Brown , 77 00:03:29,290 --> 00:03:31,710 I will never leave . Uh huh . I would 78 00:03:31,710 --> 00:03:33,877 never leave you . And he turned to the 79 00:03:33,877 --> 00:03:36,043 shipment , said I never really dio and 80 00:03:36,043 --> 00:03:38,380 I thought that was the the best thing 81 00:03:38,380 --> 00:03:42,310 I've seen . I thought if my story can 82 00:03:42,310 --> 00:03:45,260 help somebody else in my situation , 83 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,742 right . That was great . I thought that 84 00:03:47,742 --> 00:03:49,742 was That's probably one of the most 85 00:03:49,742 --> 00:03:52,076 impactful things I've seen in my career . 86 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,940 Well , hopefully thes kind of , you 87 00:03:54,940 --> 00:03:57,051 know , sharing our stories , which we 88 00:03:57,051 --> 00:03:59,384 can't dio visit every single unit . But , 89 00:03:59,384 --> 00:04:01,380 you know , maybe if units would be 90 00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:03,324 willing thio kind of share some of 91 00:04:03,324 --> 00:04:06,030 these conversations because there might 92 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:08,550 be . I think you have planning units 93 00:04:08,550 --> 00:04:10,550 where there are no minorities where 94 00:04:10,550 --> 00:04:12,606 there are no women . So they haven't 95 00:04:12,606 --> 00:04:15,490 even thought about what it's like to be 96 00:04:15,490 --> 00:04:17,546 the only person or you have somebody 97 00:04:17,546 --> 00:04:19,546 that shows up new . How do you make 98 00:04:19,546 --> 00:04:21,657 them feel included ? And , you know , 99 00:04:21,657 --> 00:04:23,379 when I think about diversity , 100 00:04:23,379 --> 00:04:25,323 inclusion and equity , I think the 101 00:04:25,323 --> 00:04:27,434 thing that I really think we all need 102 00:04:27,434 --> 00:04:29,546 to work work on the most is this idea 103 00:04:29,546 --> 00:04:31,610 of inclusion and , you know , when 104 00:04:31,610 --> 00:04:34,880 you're the new person , even if you 105 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,047 know , maybe you're from that town and 106 00:04:37,047 --> 00:04:39,158 maybe you look like everybody else on 107 00:04:39,158 --> 00:04:41,269 board . You're still the new person . 108 00:04:41,269 --> 00:04:41,260 So what are the ways that you are 109 00:04:41,260 --> 00:04:43,270 helping that new person feel like 110 00:04:43,270 --> 00:04:45,326 they're part of the family ? They're 111 00:04:45,326 --> 00:04:47,381 part of the crew , you know , if you 112 00:04:47,381 --> 00:04:49,437 think of them as your brother , Your 113 00:04:49,437 --> 00:04:51,603 sister , You know , How would you want 114 00:04:51,603 --> 00:04:53,940 them to be treated on ? It can be a 115 00:04:53,940 --> 00:04:56,162 simple is that ? I mean , I don't think 116 00:04:56,162 --> 00:04:58,384 you have to be a DNI practitioner to be 117 00:04:58,384 --> 00:05:01,230 thinking about inclusion . So there's 118 00:05:01,230 --> 00:05:03,890 this I don't wanna call a stigma , But 119 00:05:03,890 --> 00:05:06,010 there's this unwritten rule that we 120 00:05:06,010 --> 00:05:07,954 don't talk about race in the Coast 121 00:05:07,954 --> 00:05:09,899 Guard . We won't discuss race . We 122 00:05:09,899 --> 00:05:12,010 won't discuss religion . Um , and I 123 00:05:12,010 --> 00:05:14,810 think we should be discussing race 124 00:05:15,340 --> 00:05:19,320 because it's riel . How do we How do we 125 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,487 change that narrative ? How do we move 126 00:05:21,487 --> 00:05:23,598 forward with being able to have these 127 00:05:23,598 --> 00:05:25,950 kind of meaningful discussions ? So I 128 00:05:25,950 --> 00:05:27,950 feel like we've gotten this opening 129 00:05:27,950 --> 00:05:30,006 that we didn't have before . I think 130 00:05:30,006 --> 00:05:32,006 you're right . There was kind of an 131 00:05:32,006 --> 00:05:31,750 unwritten rule . It wasn't that we 132 00:05:31,750 --> 00:05:33,861 don't talk about race . It was like , 133 00:05:33,861 --> 00:05:36,194 you know , if it wasn't in your sea bag , 134 00:05:36,194 --> 00:05:38,139 then we're probably not gonna talk 135 00:05:38,139 --> 00:05:40,306 about it . But I feel like I feel like 136 00:05:40,306 --> 00:05:42,417 that we're now in a different place , 137 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:44,496 talking to my friends who are on the 138 00:05:44,496 --> 00:05:46,162 field that want to have these 139 00:05:46,162 --> 00:05:46,100 conversations . They feel like they 140 00:05:46,110 --> 00:05:48,110 need a little bit of help with some 141 00:05:48,110 --> 00:05:50,332 tools . How do I do it ? So I feel like 142 00:05:50,332 --> 00:05:52,554 where you are investing in having these 143 00:05:52,554 --> 00:05:54,666 conversations by thinking about these 144 00:05:54,666 --> 00:05:57,510 tools by , um , you know , creating 145 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,631 change agents who could be out in the 146 00:05:59,631 --> 00:06:01,798 field to help facilitate conversations 147 00:06:01,798 --> 00:06:03,687 to help coach . You know , senior 148 00:06:03,687 --> 00:06:05,687 leaders like , I feel like I have a 149 00:06:05,687 --> 00:06:08,020 whole team , including you coaching May , 150 00:06:08,020 --> 00:06:10,310 and it really makes a difference . So I 151 00:06:10,310 --> 00:06:12,366 don't think that's I think that is , 152 00:06:12,366 --> 00:06:14,310 now that unwritten rule is out the 153 00:06:14,310 --> 00:06:16,421 window now that's how I view it . And 154 00:06:16,421 --> 00:06:18,366 we have way have said it's out the 155 00:06:18,366 --> 00:06:20,477 window because now way have a comment 156 00:06:20,477 --> 00:06:22,477 on We have to make pop way signed a 157 00:06:22,477 --> 00:06:24,699 strategy . We have a lot of action that 158 00:06:24,699 --> 00:06:26,921 we're gonna put behind that , and we're 159 00:06:26,921 --> 00:06:28,421 asking people to have hard 160 00:06:28,421 --> 00:06:30,477 conversations , and we're gonna have 161 00:06:30,477 --> 00:06:34,130 some ways to get at showing . Are we as 162 00:06:34,140 --> 00:06:36,500 a service doing better ? We'll have 163 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:38,680 some some tools to figure out if we're 164 00:06:38,690 --> 00:06:40,912 doing better . It's making a difference 165 00:06:40,912 --> 00:06:43,079 because really , what I'm tryingto get 166 00:06:43,079 --> 00:06:45,020 at is how do we really change the 167 00:06:45,020 --> 00:06:46,964 culture of the Coast Guard ? So it 168 00:06:46,964 --> 00:06:49,640 feels more natural where we have some 169 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:51,862 of this a better understanding and that 170 00:06:51,862 --> 00:06:54,084 it makes us better leaders and makes us 171 00:06:54,084 --> 00:06:56,196 a better service . Makes a bill to do 172 00:06:56,196 --> 00:06:59,100 our job better . And then one thing you 173 00:06:59,100 --> 00:07:01,322 know , I think it helps us do is retain 174 00:07:01,340 --> 00:07:03,550 our talent . Because if somebody feels 175 00:07:03,550 --> 00:07:05,661 like they're not only doing a mission 176 00:07:05,661 --> 00:07:07,717 that they believe in , but they feel 177 00:07:07,717 --> 00:07:09,828 truly like there an important part of 178 00:07:09,828 --> 00:07:12,050 the team I like . Why wouldn't you want 179 00:07:12,050 --> 00:07:14,217 to be in the Coast Guard ? All right , 180 00:07:21,940 --> 00:07:22,360 mhm .