Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1292971
A l t h o u g h none of the association lead- ers indicated any current joint proj- ects, none of them ruled out future collabo- ration – or its potential effects. While Kershaw notes the long-standing networks of African-American industry profes- sionals providing advocacy for and sup- port to each other, Ferguson underscores a need to go beyond them. "I find it is equal- ly if not more important to work with organi- zations where it does not exist, or where they need to understand it through the lens in which we are dis- cussing diversity and inclusion in 2020," he says. "There is an opportunity to continue this dialogue and bring the CEOs of these organizations up to speed about what our expectations are and make sure there is light beyond when we leave these positions, so this conversation does not die." Dunn concurs, stressing how critical it can be for these leaders to col- laborate as advocates: "I think [it is] incumbent upon us to maximize this time, this day, this minute, this hour to do just that. We have a platform where we can bring together all these organizations for the benefit of tourism and lever- age it, not just for African-Americans but for the entire industry. And I believe the people who are in charge now are up to that and even our organizations know inwardly, that we have to work outwardly and collectively to move forward." The original interviews for this article were conducted in early 2020. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and this spring's racial uprisings, we asked these leaders for their updated thoughts on how our industry should move forward. empowers communities." B M & T ••• September/October 2020 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 34 ELLIOTT FERGUSON: "[More] than eight million travel- supported jobs have been lost because of decreased travel. Wash- ington, DC has lost more than $2.8 billion in travel spending since the crisis began, which translates to $126 million in lost tax revenue for the District of Columbia from visitor spending. Meetings and conventions have also been canceled, more than $268 million from 33 cancellations over this year and next, and we expect more." KEITH KERSHAW: "As industry partners have had to furlough and lay off workers, we have seen what is inherent through- out society. The front-line workers are an [overwhelmingly] minority group of hard-working and dedicat- ed people. This reminds me that hard work alone is not the only ingredient to achieving the American dream. The diversity we see at the bottom of the organiza- tion is antithetical to what we see at the top." MONICA SMITH: "Changing bias requires a personal awareness of your indi- vidual biases and a willingness to evaluate and take steps to change them. Only after those processes have been worked through can you take the steps of accepting responsibility for past decisions and making a commitment to recognizing and reducing your bias-based deci- sions going forward." JASON DUNN: "COVID has made us realize the significant impact and influence of the hospitality communi- ty to the global ecosystem. The new normal must force us to see ourselves differently and understand our true value. We must act as an industry that directly empowers communities."" GREG O'DELL: "Since the death of George Floyd, I have received phone calls from friends of various walks of life. However, that's only the beginning. We must convert understanding to action – creating solutions that involve everyone recog- nizing the importance and value of diversity, equity and inclusion. We can't expect the very people that have been impacted to be solely responsible for solving this issue."