The Ugly Truth: The "D" Word

The "D" word, in this case, is diversity.

Is there anything wrong with diversity in publishing and books? Absolutely not, but too many people tend to address diversity in purely "physical" terms (race, gender, sexual identity, ethnic origin, physical disability, etc.) I had the pleasure of working with Roosevelt Thomas (considered one of the founding authorities on the subject) some years back and still remember being shocked to hear him say, "I have seen more diversity in the all-white, all-male boardrooms of major corporations than I have in inner-city nonprofits." What he meant was that it doesn't matter if you have all manner of diversity if you don't have diversity of thought. Just because someone is different physically, sexually, etc. it does not mean that they neccessarily think differently.

Ultimately, all change comes from action stemming from thought, nothing ever changed just by virtue of anyone being who they are.