[Oe List ...] The last word on the O-word?

[W. J.]

Don, I appreciated your 'Oreo' comments, especially when you wrote: 
   
  "...the current organization is in danger of becoming an "Oreo" itself, ICA in name only, totally disconnected from its roots."
   
  I've chosen to respond to your questions in the most direct and inclusive way I know how to address some of the underlying issues that have surfaced on the listserv. So I'd appreciate both your followup comments and those of any others who are so moved in a spirit of both candor and healing.
   
  First I have to confess that it was never my intent to label Nino an Oreo. I simply reported (I thought) to one colleague that my instant gut reaction to the photograph was to see him within the Oreo stereotype, which is clear evidence of unconsciously biased thinking. And I made the terrible mistake of using that word in what I thought was a private email. But now that it's out there, I have to acknowledge that I really did have that reaction at that moment. So I apologized at length to the listserv.
   
  One of the terrible, unintended consequences of accidentally letting that very negative term become associated with Nino in people's minds is that, like so many perjorative labels, it may tend to persist and even become an unconscious negative influence that he will have to counteract in his personal interactions. I've even been greatly embarrassed to hear "Nino the Oreo" used by others with laughter. 
   
  But if this unwarranted humorous ridicule cuts to the quick, it may be because people may perceive that the ICA-USA board is trying to buy some desperately needed credibility by placing in the ED chair a racial minority person like his predecessor Kirk Harris. And I surmise that those who were laughing were, like myself, feeling great pain over the stance of the board, rather than personally belittling Mr. Tillman. Sadly, part of the ED's job is being associated with the negativity created by the board's actions.
   
  Then came, at great length, an indirect reaction from Carolyn Antenen. She didn't attempt to communicate with me. Instead, she burned up the phone lines calling everybody else she could think of to complain that I was a Racist (with a capital R), and that, in communicating with other colleagues, I was misrepresenting myself as speaking on behalf of, or in support of, ICAI (unsurprisingly, ICAI asked me to make those calls on their behalf).
   
  Then came that email from Carolyn (and only two others on the board who decided to stand with her) on the listserv that raised the delicate issue of ethics, or more specifically labeled my "Racist" comments as unethical behavior.

   
  That email stirred up a hornet's nest of private responses to Carolyn (some of which were forwarded to me), upbraiding her and demanding an apology to the listserv--which I have yet to see.
   
  In hopes of ending the dustup, I decided not to escalate the vitriol and did not respond to her email. 
   
  As to the context of my use of the term "Oreo," here is the best I can do for you. 
   
  As I understand it, "Oreo" is a derogatory label that arose historically within the Black community as a shorthand description of the cultural assimilation of a few educated Black people who were highly valued by the dominant white power structure because they were not "in-your-face" confrontational, not identified with their own Black cultural or political roots or personal history of marginalization, knew intimately how to work within the white power structure, were trained and groomed to take high visibility corporate and goverment jobs as 'tokens' of inclusiveness, and were seen to be 'bought off' by high salaries and positions of privilege to reflect the political bias of their employers rather than their own personal or community interests.
   
  When I lived in a rather upscale building in Washington D.C. in the '80's, one of the residents was "Silent Sam" Pierce, Reagan's African-American HUD Secretary, whom Reagan infamously didn't even recognize when he appeared for a photo-op with a group of African-American mayors. But Pierce loyally cut HUD funding to the bone, essentially closing down the department's construction of low income housing (which affected Fifth City, among many other communities), while he presided over a major scandal that diverted government funds to the pockets of influential Republican donors and resulted in felony convictions of many of his close associates.
   
  As Forrest Gump might say, Oreo is as Oreo does. 
   
  From the perspective of the Black community, it is very clear that Pierce was the perfect Oreo. And if he was the first of the Republican Oreos, you could add many others to the list, including Justice Thomas and Secretary Rice, who are notably aligned with an oppressive political ideology that often pits them against the interests of the poor and people of color throughout the world. 
   
  The key function of an Oreo is taking orders from the person who holds power and wields influence. Condi knows how to salute on cue when she hears 'Hail to the Chief.' Granted, she's very smart and has some influence on policymaking, but at the end of the day she's there because she knows how to toe the line.
   
  'Corporate Oreos' are very valuable players within corporate cultures, and may have prominent positions of high visibility. The ones I know personally are incredibly smooth and have both high credibility and fantastic social and managerial skills. They know how to represent and embody the corporate identity. So when corporations need to manage 'PR problems' arising from getting mired in ethical or legal quicksand, they call on the experts who can put the best public face on the mess.
   
  Not all 'Corporate Oreos' are in fact Black people. A notable example would be Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter Mary, who for years was a PR manager for the Coors enterprise, the target of a long-running boycott by the gay community for their extreme right-wing and homophobic policies. Coors hired her for the most obvious of reasons: to reclaim their huge slice of the gay market for beer.
   
  It's not yet clear whether Nino will simply make good use of Oreo skills, or whether he will be able to be 'Nino the peacemaker' or 'Nino the reconciler' -- taking on the great dislocation between the board, the former staff, and the historical constituency of the ICA-USA and bringing healing to these relationships.
   
  In using our analytic skills to assess the imbalances or dysfunction in the ICA-USA system, it's clear to me that the board, after many years of weakness and inaction, has become the tyrant in the system by not being accountable to the whole system, and not acknowledging both the dysfunction and the terrible price we all have paid, reflected in the degree of anger that has been aroused over the attempt to cut off the real roots of the organization.
   
  Unfortunately, in the recent past the board has appeared to have stripped Kirk Harris of any real, independent administrative voice or authority as interim ED, making him jump to attention every time Carolyn called. That placed her in the untenable position of micromanaging staff functions as an absentee dictator, while she continued to call unwanted attention to her personal interventions.
   
  In a functional system the board president would not be called upon to take over the administrative operations of the organization. Granted, after precipitously removing the entire previous staff, somebody needs to provide some degree of continuity, if only to know where in the building the fuse boxes are. If that continuity is facilitative rather than directive, then the new administration can establish an independent presence, and the continuing hostility aroused by the board's ongiong PR disaster may diminish.
   
  For me the Oreo issue is whether Carolyn herself will continue to place the ED in an Oreo role, no matter his or her skin color. And I personally think that's a profoundly ethical issue for all of us.
   
  My unfortunate and inadvertant use of the O-word on the listserv touched a raw nerve in the system and set off a firestorm of reactivity. And when Carolyn calls me a Racist, it's really just cover for her own struggle with her role in allowing an independent and accountable administrative function to emerge. 
   
  I agree with Carolyn that for me to even think the O-word, absent any confirming data, is stereo-typing (or at least sleep-typing). But for me the real ethical issues are much deeper than my use of words. They are about relationships distorted by profound biases in racial attitudes. My white racism is deep, but hopefully it is countered by an awareness that I participate, often unconsciously, in the universe of white male privilege. 
   
  When Carolyn raises the issue of ethics in such a superficial context, it is a huge red flag for me. For some reason I expect a higher standard of ethical sensitivity when white women exercise great corporate power.
   
  For me ethical dimension of decision making is focussed on achieving the best possible outcomes for all concerned. And I frankly wonder whether the board has met, and continues to meet that ethical obligation in its decision making.
   
  Don, I appreciate your personal willingness to stick with the board in all its dysfunctionality. And I pray that your presence will continue to have a positive influence.
   
  Marshall Jones
   
  I've heard that Carolyn has re-nominated herself as board President in the upcoming election. Since there is diminished support for her leadership on the board, I hope she will see the wisdom of relinquishing her role at an appropriate point. That would be a highly ethical step forward for all concerned.
   
  dpelliott at aol.com wrote:
    Marshall,
   
  You have seen the exchanges on the list serve which were in response to your "Oreo" characterization of the new ED, Nino.  I personally think the reaction to your statement was a bit overblown.  I'm not quite sure of the definition of the term as you used it.  I have most often heard "Oreo" used by one black as a derogatory term describing another black who has perhaps pursued an education, or become successful outside his neighborhood and is accused of being "too good" to associate with the "home boys".  Your using this term, as someone who doesn't have any personal knowledege of Nino, and your accompanying "corporate black" remark make me think you have a different definition in mind.
   
  I have heard "Oreo" used to describe Condoleeza Rice, a black woman PnD, with incredible skills and accomplishments, and some have accused Barack Obama of not being "black enough."  Is he an "Oreo" by your definition?
   
  Believe me, if there had been a candidate from 5th City with the credentials of an advanced degree and experience in running an organization, they probably would have been selected.  It is unfortunate that someone with ICA history (Terry) did not have the credentials the selection committee was looking for.
   
  Maybe you were using "Oreo" to describe someone who denies their roots, and is therefore inauthentic, and not true to themselves.  Here's a couple of definitions from the web. neither satisfying to me.  The first is, amazingly, from the Wikipedia slang dictionary; the second is from an Australian online dictionary of American slang.
   
   
  Oreo  
  (US) Term used to describe two black people, and a white person together
  [a menage a trois?]
   
  2. Derogatory term for an African American person who sympathises with, or dates or marries, whites (literally: black on the outside, white on the inside) (s.a. Uncle Tom).
   
  This query will go only to you, not to the list serve.  Interested in your thoughts and what prompted your posting.  I agree with you, by the way, that the way things have been going, the current organization is in danger of becoming an "Oreo" itself, ICA in name only, totally disconnected from its roots.  Some of us are working to prevent this from happening.  Look for signs of progress.
   
  Don Elliott
    
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