Chamber Apologizes To Minorities Diversity Ignored In Video About Future Of Community

Diversity was the meeting’s theme, but only white people were represented.

That was the complaint last week against the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce. During its 100th annual meeting at the Ag Trade Center, the chamber showed more than 1,200 guests a video depicting Spokane’s future leaders. None was a member of a minority.

“I was very, very disgusted and angry,” said Ben Cabildo, a member of Spokane’s Human Rights Commission. “The whole meeting sent a message that people of color will be excluded from the future.”

In response to such complaints, the chamber sent out more than 1,000 letters this week apologizing for the incident.

“Despite our efforts to make this a celebration of our diverse community, we made a mistake at the meeting, one which sent a message never intended,” said the letter, signed by board chairmen David R. Shea and David Broom.

“This is a tragic outcome and one which we, the chamber leadership and staff, deeply regret.”

It wasn’t just the video that upset people at the Sept. 16 meeting. At the end of the program, students from Franklin Elementary School walked through the “Door of Opportunity” with outgoing trustees and committee chairmen. Like the children in the video, all the students were white.

The absence of minority representatives contradicted the meeting’s theme of diversity, some people say, especially because Andrew Young - former ambassador, Atlanta mayor and civil rights leader - was the keynote speaker.

“It just brought tears to my eyes,” said Eileen Thomas of Spokane. “I couldn’t believe that happened. I came out the back door and started crying.”

The mistakes weren’t intentional, said Rich Hadley, the chamber’s president and CEO. Not enough people had previewed the video, which was produced by local volunteers, he said. Somehow, all the pieces didn’t come together.

“We wanted to keep diversity in mind,” Hadley said. “A couple of things just didn’t work out. It shouldn’t have happened but we’re sorry for it.”

Despite the outrage expressed by members of the community, some people at the meeting didn’t even notice.

“I wasn’t offended,” said North Idaho resident Vernon Baker, one of the few African-Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism in World War II. “I don’t understand why people are upset. (The program) was OK, as far as I was concerned. … I’m not color-conscious.”

Young, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, said nothing about the video or the program’s ending, Hadley said. Still, the chamber plans to ask him for feedback by sending him information about the complaints and the chamber’s response.

“It was so hurtful to our communities of color,” said Judith Mason, the chamber’s director of community development. “It was so unfortunate. We felt sad and hurt that we did that.

“We’re now very aware of our own lack of awareness.”

Chamber leaders met with their 75-member work force diversity committee several days after the 100th annual meeting. They discussed people’s reactions to the program and talked about the chamber’s continued commitment to diversity, one of the chamber’s six priorities this year.

Last week’s annual meeting should be seen as a wake-up call, some people say. The mistakes happened because the chamber was “trying to do something but was ignorant of how to do certain things well,” Mason said.

“We need healing and movement forward,” she said. “We want to learn.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S NEXT? The Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce will have a luncheon for the people who attended the Sept. 16 annual meeting. It will be held at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 8 at the Ag Trade Center. Call 459-4111 to R.S.V.P.