Speaker 0 00:00:00 From Romano Leadership, I'm Oscar Romano. This is Learn Reflect Lead
Speaker 1 00:00:05 Leadership and
Speaker 0 00:00:06 D i a development for mission-driven individuals and organizations.
Speaker 1 00:00:12 This episode is titled Identity Suppression. Will ver Madrid's Beis Jr. And your staff of color have in common come. This episode is for you if you care about promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. If you're interested in understanding the impact of racism and identity suppression in, or if you want to learn about how to create an inclusive environment for employees and students, today we're gonna talk about identity suppression, and we're gonna use a worldwide star to help us, you know, focus in a little bit more on the topic. <unk> literal transition, stop acting like a monkey.
Speaker 2 00:01:03 This
Speaker 1 00:01:03 Was used to describe Benne Jr. Also known as Vinny Jr. An Afro-Brazilian soccer player for Baram Madrid. Spain is a country with assorted history of racist attitudes towards soccer players of color.
Speaker 2 00:01:19 And
Speaker 1 00:01:19 This was the latest example of racism and identity suppression that can't go unaddressed. It wasn't just anybody who made this statement either. It came from the president of the Spanish Association of Football Agents. Pedro Nowk later tried to walk it back by saying that he meant a different meaning of the phrase as it can be turp. He, it can be interpreted as stop playing the clown or stop acting the fool. So what was heinous enough for Vinny Jr to get called out with the racist remark where someone's comparing him to a monkey? You, you see, he, he danced. Vinny Junior celebrates his goals with a short dance routine, literally only seconds long. And while goal celebrations have been commonplace in soccer since the 1950s, Benny Junior celebrations have been called out. Why? Well, we have to think about, you know, racism and identity suppression in Spanish soccer. And all you need to do is look at Bravo's choice of words. <unk>, which is Spanish for monkey has consistently been used as a derogatory term toward black soccer players in Spain. Of all the words Bravo could have used, why choose that one? I wonder what Bravo would've said if it was a white Spaniard with the Short Flamingo dance celebration,
Speaker 1 00:03:08 And why didn't he ever say anything like that about Christiano Ronaldo's celebrations when he played for Madrid? I mean, his celebrations are known all over the world, so why, why isn't that a problem?
Speaker 2 00:03:24 It,
Speaker 1 00:03:24 It seems like they want Vinny Jr to perform and put on a show, but they want him to do it the right way, their way.
Speaker 2 00:03:35 They'll
Speaker 1 00:03:36 Tolerate Vinny Jr's inclusion in their league if he doesn't bring his culture with him. Now, I want you to compare that with, you know, a workplace in schools and think about I identity suppression there. How often do organizations send that same message to their staff of color? How often do they tell them to conform and leave their cultural identities at the door? You can't say you care about diversity if you're muting the expressions of the people of color who work for you. And it's even more important in schools. Educators are setting up students mental frameworks about what's acceptable and how they should behave. What does it say to students when aspects of their identities are outlawed? Why should it matter if somebody shows up with designs shaved into their heads, or if they have tattoos, or if they wear head coverings, or if they do a little dance when something goes well? You know, let, let's go to back to Vinny Jr and review his response to all this. Not for perspective. Vinny Jr. Is a multimillion dollar soccer star for one of the top clubs in the world, barometry, and one of the leading,
Speaker 2 00:05:04 And,
Speaker 1 00:05:05 And he's that soccer star for one of the leading national teams in the world, Brazil.
Speaker 2 00:05:09 And
Speaker 1 00:05:10 He used this platform to hit back against the attacks against him. You know, Vinny Jr. Said, my dances celebrate the cultural diversity of the world, accepted, respected. I'm not going to stop. He wrote on Instagram weeks ago, he said, some people started to criticize my dancing, but the dancing is not mine alone. They belong, Tomar, <unk>, Felix, Matt, Brazilian funk singers and samba dancers, Latin singers, black Americans, their dances to celebrate the cultural diversity of the world. They say that happiness bothers the happiness of a, a black Brazilian being successful in Europe bothers much more, but my will to win my smile and the sparkle in my eyes are much bigger than that man, what a powerful statement. Five. Vinnie Junior. What was great is that Benny Jr also saw a ton of support from his team, brown Madrid and from players worldwide players told him that he's not alone and that he's supported. At the end of the day, though, organizations need to take the lead, and that, that's why it was powerful for Brown Madrid to take that stance, because organizations must lead in creating cultures that allow individuals to express their identities. 99.9% of employees and students don't have the same platform as Vin Junior. Many will suppress their cultural identities to fit in.
Speaker 2 00:06:52 They
Speaker 1 00:06:52 Don't wanna rock the boat. They wanna succeed and know that they're bosses or their teachers hold the key to success. Organizations can start by getting input from people of color. They can give people of color a seat at the table to offer their perspectives. They can ask questions and then sit back and listen. They can take in what they're saying with an open mind. You don't have to use derogatory terms to tell someone that their whole self isn't welcome. You also do that when you forbid parts of their identity from the workplace or from school. All right, now it's time to commit. How have your experiences and
Speaker 0 00:07:42 Biases
Speaker 1 00:07:43 Helped shape your understanding of racism and cultural expression? And what actions can you take to educate yourself and challenge these biases?
Speaker 3 00:07:54 And
Speaker 1 00:07:54 In what ways can you support and amplify the voices of marginalized communities in your workplace or school? And how can you use your privilege or influence to create a more inclusive and respectful environment? Let me know how it goes. Thanks.
Speaker 0 00:08:18 That's it for this episode of Learn, reflect Lead. Thank you for watching on YouTube or listening via podcast. If you're interested in more, you can find
[email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn at Romano Leadership. If you like this episode, please share with your friends. Subscribe and leave a review. I'm Oscar Ramona. Until next time.
