Diversity Trainers Share War Stories Air Force, Civilians Face Similar Problems

Diversity trainers hear the same issues whether they serve a civilian office or an Air Force base.

Workers from both compared notes Thursday at Gonzaga University as part of a national training program for U.S. Air Force equal opportunity employees.

About 60 military personnel from around the country traveled to Fairchild early this week for training.

Rex Jones, superintendent of the military equal opportunity office at Fairchild, organized the week’s events. He wanted to showcase the work being done in Spokane.

“We want to help minimize the reputation that sort of goes along with Spokane,” Jones said. “We’re going to show Spokane is a positive diversity arena.”

Because of its proximity to several hate groups, Spokane has earned an unfair reputation as a racist region, Jones said.

Thursday’s session gave Air Force personnel a chance to challenge Spokane’s diversity trainers with the kinds of tough questions military workers face.

They asked questions such as, “Why can’t you just be Americans?”

The panel had heard the question before - many times.

“If I’m called just an American, it takes away part of what I am,” said Linda Takami, an equity coordinator for School District 81. She is Japanese American.

“I have a really hard time, and I bristle when someone points at me and says, `You’re just an American,”’ said Terrie Scott, a Washington State University-Spokane employee.

Accepting a person’s self-identify, be it Asian American or African American, is part of respecting them, Scott said. She is both black and Asian.

Scott had heard the “just be American” sentiments from her father, who has retired from the military.

Spokane’s diversity trainers also spoke about their biggest challenges.

Getting an organization to see why the training is important is a struggle, said Gita Hatcher, affirmative action officer for the city of Spokane.

A common response she’ll hear is, “Aren’t we all the same?”

Her work is often prejudged as sessions that pick on white people, she said.

Once training is established, it can be even tougher because trainers are not perfect, said Ester Louie, an assistant dean at Whitworth College.

“Anyone who’s been a trainer has been blindsided,” Louie said.

But you just have to come clean, admit your blind spot or lack of knowledge and try to recover, she said.

Recovering your balance can be difficult.

As an example, Louie said she was recently invited to give a presentation to a hospital staff on sexual-orientation issues. She explained the ground rules to ensure that it was an exercise in sharing, not lecturing.

As the meeting began, a man entered the back of the room. He announced he wanted to read an eight-minute speech on the topic.

She told him no. He could join the discussion, but he could not lecture the group.

He began reading anyway. She asked him to stop again, and she asked the group if they wanted to hear the speech.

They said no.

He started reading again, she said.

“I was just a mess after that … being challenged and challenged and challenged,” Scott said. “You think everything will go great, and it goes rapidly into the toilet.”

Vince Lemus, the city’s human rights specialist, said after a training session on sexual harassment that he found his legs were aching from the tension. After trainings, he often feels drained.

They all agreed that they need to share their experiences with someone, get it off their backs and get support.

After the discussion, Staff Sgt. Jacolyn Wade from Dover, Del., said the event personalized the week’s worth of events for her.

“It balanced out and brought home what we’ve been taught,” Wade said. “I found it to be very rewarding.”