Diversity Task Force - Diversity Dispatch

This month MPI Georgia celebrates Black History Month. It is a time of the year to celebrate the wonders of Black culture, to play tribute to the strength of Black people, their ingenuity, their creativity, and their contributions to American society. The African American community’s contribution to the cultural landscape can be found everywhere. From Sapelo Island and the thriving Gullah-Geechee culture to the heart of Atlanta where leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement forever changed our history Georgia is full of rich Black historical events.

Interesting Fact: When Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. originally drafted his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, the “dream” language was considered but ultimately edited out. Initially, he was only allotted five minutes to speak, and he did not think he would have enough time to include those words. When he handed the speech into the press the text “I have a dream” was not included. That morning when they arrived at the march, Dr. King was disappointed at the attendee numbers the media outlets were reporting – according to reports only about 25,000 had shown up to protest. However, by the time they reached the Lincoln Memorial, the numbers had increased. Perhaps the large turnout is what inspired King to suddenly change his speech and add in the infamous “I have a dream” words.

In the summer of 2020, the leadership of MPI Georgia enacted a Diversity Task Force to better reflect in our membership the diversity of our abundant community.

The mission of the Task Force is to bring awareness to diversity with an intentional focus on exposing opportunities while enhancing representation within the chapter. As a newly formed group our goal is to:

1. Actively engage our diverse members within the chapter by improving awareness, encouraging participation, and broadening our outreach.
2. Ensure diverse experiences through all chapter events with a continued communication platform that is reflective of our members and industry community.
3. Implement a structure for qualified diverse suppliers and organizations to receive accessibility to opportunities within our chapter.
4. Continuously communicate information to the chapter to increase awareness and cultivate understanding.

Over the coming months, you will be introduced to these task force members and asked to be involved in shaping the direction of our chapter.