UNTIL YOU WALK IN MY SHOES: A REFRAMING METHODOLOGY TO OVERCOME SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION

UNTIL YOU WALK IN MY SHOES: A Reframing Methodology to Overcome Systemic Discrimination, has two sections. The first section describes the Framework and Process of the Reframing Methodology, and the second section consists of 18 cases in which the Reframing Methodology is implemented. The Framework describes the role of Equity and Inclusion in establishing psychologically safe or unsafe cultures in organizations, and introduces the Equity-Inclusion Culture Matrix. Equity, Inclusion, and Individual Engagement (EIIE) is introduced as a natural evolution of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The Reframing Process is described and the steps needed to Reframe the Problem being experienced by the aggrieved individual are described. These steps include ensuring clarity of the Desired Outcome, walking in the shoes of the aggrieved, and finding a Better Problem to Solve to achieve the Desired Outcome..

In the second section each of the 18 cases is described and analyzed with the aid of the Equity-Inclusion Culture Matrix. These cases include employees from healthcare – physicians and nurses, employees from government agencies, as well as from large corporations and academic institutions..

These cases are significant because they highlight several important issues. These include the role Equity and Inclusion play in healthcare disparities, employee well-being and health, and productivity in organizations.

ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION
BY REFRAMING THE PROBLEM

The book introduces and demonstrates the importance of three new concepts in Addressing Systemic Discrimination. These are Focus on the Individual; Evolution of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to Equity, Inclusion and Individual Engagement (EIIE) and Safe Haven Dialogues (SHD) Reframing Process. The book describes the contributions of Equity and Inclusion in determining the psychological safety of an organization and introduces the Equity-Inclusion Culture Matrix as a tool to assess these cultures.

In the second section of the book, the author presents a case series of Individuals from a wide cross-section of professions including academia, industry, government, and healthcare, who have experienced Systemic Discrimination. The SHD Reframing Process is then used to objectively determine aspects of Systemic Discrimination which are depicted in these cases. A VIP (Victors over Injustice in their Professions) panel reviews issues of Equity and Inclusion and seeks a Better Problem to Solve to achieve the Desired Outcome by Reframing the Problem. Understanding the Aggrieved Individual’s position within the Equity Inclusion Culture Matrix helps to find a Better Problem to Solve.

DEFINING MOMENTS OF A FREE MAN FROM
A BLACK STREAM

From growing up in poverty to developing drugs that fight diabetes, seizures, and cancer, Dr. Frank L. Douglas has lived a life based on values, hard work, and self-control. Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream is a reflection on the events and people that made him into the man he is.

In 1963, the year of the murder of Medgar Evers, Civil Rights marches, and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, twenty-year-old Douglas arrived in the United States. A Fulbright scholar from British Guiana, Douglas studied engineering at Lehigh University, received his Ph.D. and M.D. from Cornell University, and did his Residency in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins. A curious and motivated young man from a colonial country struggling for independence, Douglas was shocked by the racism he received from white Americans and the cultural prejudice he received from black Americans. Struggling with his faith and identity, Douglas decided to control his own future through grit, hard work, and the road less travelled.

Intimate and honest, incisive and searching, Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream is a memoir of self-determination and blazing your own path in a narrow-minded world.