Color blind or color brave? | Mellody Hobson

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Mile Živković

So it's 2006.

2006. je godina.

My friend Harold Ford calls me.

Zove me moj prijatelj Harold Ford.

He's running for U.S. Senate in Tennessee,

On je kandidat za Senat SAD-a u Tenesiju,

and he says, "Mellody, I desperately need some national press. Do you have any ideas?"

i kaže: "Melodi, očajnički mi je potrebno nešto nacionalne štampe. Imaš li ideja?"

So I had an idea. I called a friend

Imala sam ideju. Pozvala sam prijateljicu

who was in New York

koja je bila u Njujorku

at one of the most successful media companies in the world,

u jednoj od najuspešnijih medijskih kompanija na svetu,

and she said, "Why don't we host

i ona je rekla: "Zašto ne bismo priredile

an editorial board lunch for Harold?

redakcijski ručak za Harolda?

You come with him."

Dođi sa njim."

Harold and I arrive in New York.

Harold i ja stižemo u Njujork.

We are in our best suits.

U najboljim smo odelima.

We look like shiny new pennies.

Izgledamo kao sjajni novi novčići.

And we get to the receptionist, and we say,

Krećemo ka recepcionerki i kažemo:

"We're here for the lunch."

"Ovde smo zbog ručka."

She motions for us to follow her.

Ona nam daje znak da je pratimo.

We walk through a series of corridors,

Prolazimo kroz niz hodnika,

and all of a sudden we find ourselves

i iznenada se nađemo

in a stark room,

u praznoj prostoriji,

at which point she looks at us and she says,

u kom trenutku ona pogleda u nas i kaže:

"Where are your uniforms?"

"Gde su vaše uniforme?"

Just as this happens,

Dok se ovo dešava,

my friend rushes in.

moj prijateljica uleće unutra.

The blood drains from her face.

Nestalo je boje sa njenog lica.

There are literally no words, right?

Bukvalno se nema šta reći, zar ne?

And I look at her, and I say,

Pogledam u nju i kažem:

"Now, don't you think we need

"Zar ne misliš da nam je potrebno

more than one black person in the U.S. Senate?"

više od jedne crne osobe u SAD Senatu?"

Now Harold and I --

Harold i ja -

(Applause) —

(Aplauz) -

we still laugh about that story,

mi se još uvek smejemo zbog te priče,

and in many ways, the moment caught me off guard,

i na mnogo načina, trenutak me je uhvatio nespremnu,

but deep, deep down inside,

ali duboko, duboko unutra,

I actually wasn't surprised.

zapravo nisam bila iznenađena.

A nisam bila iznenađena zbog nečega

And I wasn't surprised because of something

my mother taught me about 30 years before.

čemu me je moja majka naučila 30 godina ranije.

You see, my mother was ruthlessly realistic.

Vidite, moja majka je bila surovo realna.

I remember one day coming home from a birthday party

Sećam se jednom kada sam došla kući sa rođendana

where I was the only black kid invited,

gde sam bila jedino pozvano crno dete,

and instead of asking me the normal motherly questions

i umesto da mi postavi normalna majčinska pitanja

like, "Did you have fun?" or "How was the cake?"

kao što su: "Da li si se lepo provela?" ili "Kakva je bila torta?"

my mother looked at me and she said,

moja majka me je pogledala i rekla:

"How did they treat you?"

"Kako su se ponašali prema tebi?"

I was seven. I did not understand.

Imala sam sedam godina. Nisam razumela.

I mean, why would anyone treat me differently?

Mislim, zašto bi se bilo ko ponašao drugačije prema meni?

But she knew.

Ali ona je znala.

And she looked me right in the eye and she said,

Pogledala me je pravo u oči i rekla je:

"They will not always treat you well."

"Neće te uvek dobro tretirati."

Now, race is one of those topics in America

Rasa je u Americi jedna od onih tema

that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable.

koja čini da se ljudi osećaju izuzetno neprijatno.

You bring it up at a dinner party

Iznesite je na večernjoj zabavi

or in a workplace environment,

ili u radnom okruženju,

it is literally the conversational equivalent

u razgovoru je to bukvalno ekvivalentno

of touching the third rail.

dodirivanju treće šine.

There is shock,

Nastaje šok,

followed by a long silence.

praćen dugom tišinom.

I čak dolazeći ovde danas,

And even coming here today,

I told some friends and colleagues

rekla sam nekim prijateljima i kolegama

that I planned to talk about race,

da planiram da pričam o rasi,

and they warned me, they told me, don't do it,

i upozorili su me, rekli su mi, nemoj,

that there'd be huge risks

da će biti ogromnih rizika

in me talking about this topic,

u tome da govorim o ovoj temi,

that people might think I'm a militant black woman

da ljudi mogu pomisliti da sam borbena crnkinja

and I would ruin my career.

i da bih uništila svoju karijeru.

And I have to tell you,

I moram vam reći,

I actually for a moment was a bit afraid.

zaista sam se na trenutak malo uplašila.

Then I realized,

Onda sam shvatila,

the first step to solving any problem

prvi korak u rešavanju bilo kog problema

is to not hide from it,

nije sakriti se od njega,

and the first step to any form of action

a prvi korak ka bilo kom obliku akcije

is awareness.

je svesnost.

And so I decided to actually talk about race.

I tako sam odlučila da zaista govorim o rasi.

And I decided that if I came here and shared with you

I rešila sam da ako dođem ovde i podelim sa vama

some of my experiences,

neka svoja iskustva,

that maybe we could all be a little less anxious

da bismo možda svi mi bili malo manje anksiozni

and a little more bold

i malo više smeli

in our conversations about race.

u našim razgovorima o rasi.

Now I know there are people out there who will say

Znam da ima ljudi koji će reći

that the election of Barack Obama meant

da je izbor Baraka Obame označio

that it was the end of racial discrimination

da je kraj rasnoj diskriminaciji

for all eternity, right?

za čitavu večnost, zar ne?

But I work in the investment business,

Ali ja radim u investicionom poslu,

and we have a saying:

i mi imamo izreku:

The numbers do not lie.

brojevi ne lažu.

And here, there are significant,

A ovde postoje značajne,

quantifiable racial disparities

merljive rasne razlike

that cannot be ignored,

koje se ne mogu ignorisati,

in household wealth, household income,

u bogatstvu i prihodima domaćinstva,

job opportunities, healthcare.

poslovnim prilikama, zdravstvenoj zaštiti.

One example from corporate America:

Jedan primer iz korporativne Amerike:

Even though white men

iako beli muškarci

make up just 30 percent of the U.S. population,

čine svega 30% populacije SAD-a,

they hold 70 percent of all corporate board seats.

oni drže 70% svih mesta u korporativnim odborima.

Of the Fortune 250,

Na listi "Fortune 250",

there are only seven CEOs that are minorities,

svega 7 direktora pripadaju nacionalnim manjinama,

and of the thousands of publicly traded companies today, thousands,

a od hiljada javno trgovanih kompanija danas, hiljada,

only two are chaired by black women,

samo dvema rukovodi crnkinja,

and you're looking at one of them,

i gledate u jednu od njih,

the same one who, not too long ago,

istu onu koja je, ne tako davno,

was nearly mistaken for kitchen help.

skoro pomešana sa kuhinjskim osobljem.

So that is a fact.

Dakle to je činjenica.

Now I have this thought experiment

Imam ovaj misaoni eksperiment

that I play with myself, when I say,

koji odigravam sama sa sobom, kada kažem,

imagine if I walked you into a room

zamisli da sam te uvela u prostoriju

and it was of a major corporation, like ExxonMobil,

i ona je u velikoj korporaciji, kao što je Ekson Mobil,

and every single person around the boardroom were black,

i svaka osoba u sali je crna,

you would think that were weird.

pomislila bi da je to čudno.

But if I walked you into a Fortune 500 company,

Ali ako bih te uvela u "Fortune 500" kompaniju,

and everyone around the table is a white male,

i svi za stolom su beli muškarci,

when will it be that we think that's weird too?

kada ćemo misliti da je to takođe čudno?

And I know how we got here.

I znam kako smo dospeli ovde.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

I know how we got here.

Znam kako smo dospeli ovde.

You know, there was institutionalized,

Znate, postojala je institucionalizovana,

at one time legalized, discrimination in our country.

jedno vreme legalizovana, diskriminacija u našoj zemlji.

There's no question about it.

Tu nema sumnje.

But still, as I grapple with this issue,

Ali još uvek, dok se hvatam u koštac sa ovim problemom,

my mother's question hangs in the air for me:

pitanje moje majke mi još uvek lebdi u vazduhu:

How did they treat you?

kako su se ponašali prema tebi?

Now, I do not raise this issue to complain

Ne pokrećem ovo pitanje da bih se žalila

ili da bih bilo kako izazvala neku vrstu saosećanja.

or in any way to elicit any kind of sympathy.

I have succeeded in my life

Uspela sam u životu

beyond my wildest expectations,

iznad mojih najluđih očekivanja,

and I have been treated well by people of all races

i prema meni su se dobro ophodili ljudi svih rasa

more often than I have not.

češće nego što nisu.

I tell the uniform story because it happened.

Govorim priču o uniformi jer se dogodila.

I cite those statistics around corporate board diversity

Citiram statistiku o raznolikosti korporativnog odbora

because they are real,

zato što je istinita,

and I stand here today

i stojim ovde danas

talking about this issue of racial discrimination

govoreći o problemu rasne diskriminacije

because I believe it threatens to rob

jer verujem da preti da liši

another generation of all the opportunities

još jednu generaciju svih mogućnosti

that all of us want for all of our children,

koje svi mi želimo za svu našu decu,

no matter what their color

bez obzira na njihovu boju

or where they come from.

ili na to odakle dolaze.

And I think it also threatens to hold back businesses.

A smatram da takođe preti da zaustavi poslovanje.

You see, researchers have coined this term

Vidite, istraživači su skovali ovaj termin

"color blindness"

"slepilo za boje"

to describe a learned behavior where we pretend

kako bi opisali naučeno ponašanje gde se mi pretvaramo

that we don't notice race.

da ne primećujemo rasu.

If you happen to be surrounded by a bunch of people

Ako se desi da postanete okruženi gomilom ljudi

who look like you, that's purely accidental.

koji izgledaju kao vi, to je puka slučajnost.

Now, color blindness, in my view,

Slepilo za boje, prema mom gledištu,

doesn't mean that there's no racial discrimination,

ne znači da nema rasne diskriminacije,

and there's fairness.

i da je tu pravednost.

It doesn't mean that at all. It doesn't ensure it.

Uopšte to ne znači. Ono to ne obezbeđuje.

In my view, color blindness is very dangerous

Prema mom gledištu, slepilo za boje je veoma opasno

because it means we're ignoring the problem.

jer znači da ignorišemo problem.

There was a corporate study that said that,

Postoji korporativna studija koja kaže:

instead of avoiding race,

umesto izbegavanja rase,

the really smart corporations actually deal with it head on.

zaista pametne korporacije se u stvari direktno bave njome.

They actually recognize that embracing diversity

One zapravo priznaju da prihvatanje različitosti

means recognizing all races,

znači priznavanje svih rasa,

including the majority one.

uključujući onu većinsku.

But I'll be the first one to tell you,

Ali ja ću biti prva koja će vam reći,

this subject matter can be hard,

ova tematika može biti teška,

awkward, uncomfortable -- but that's kind of the point.

nelagodna, neprijatna - ali u tome je stvar.

In the spirit of debunking racial stereotypes,

U duhu raskrinkavanja rasnih stereotipa,

the one that black people don't like to swim,

onog da crnci ne vole da plivaju,

I'm going to tell you how much I love to swim.

reći ću vam koliko ja volim da plivam.

I love to swim so much

Volim da plivam toliko

that as an adult, I swim with a coach.

da kao odrasla, plivam sa trenerom.

And one day my coach had me do a drill

I jednog dana mi je moj trener naložio da uradim vežbu

gde sam morala da plivam do jednog kraja bazena od 25 metara

where I had to swim to one end of a 25-meter pool

without taking a breath.

bez uzimanja vazduha.

And every single time I failed,

I svaki put kad nisam uspela,

I had to start over.

morala sam da započnem iznova.

A mnogo puta nisam uspevala.

And I failed a lot.

By the end, I got it, but when I got out of the pool,

Na kraju sam uspela, ali kada sam izašla iz bazena,

I was exasperated and tired and annoyed,

bila sam razdražena i umorna i iznervirana,

and I said, "Why are we doing breath-holding exercises?"

i rekla sam: "Zašto radimo ove vežbe zadržavanja daha?"

And my coach looked me at me, and he said, "Mellody,

A moj trener me je pogledao i rekao:

that was not a breath-holding exercise.

"Melodi, ovo nije bila vežba zadržavanja daha.

That drill was to make you comfortable

Vežba je trebalo da ti učini prijatnim

being uncomfortable,

da ti ne bude prijatno,

because that's how most of us spend our days."

jer tako većina nas provodi svoje dane."

If we can learn to deal with our discomfort,

Ako možemo da naučimo da se bavimo svojom nelagodnošću

and just relax into it,

i samo opustimo u njoj,

we'll have a better life.

imaćemo bolji život.

So I think it's time for us to be comfortable

Mislim da je vreme da nam bude ugodno

with the uncomfortable conversation about race:

u neugodnom razgovoru o rasi:

black, white, Asian, Hispanic,

crni, beli, Azijati, hispano,

male, female, all of us,

muško, žensko, svi mi,

if we truly believe in equal rights

ako iskreno verujemo u jednaka prava

and equal opportunity in America,

i jednake mogućnosti u Americi,

I think we have to have real conversations

mislim da moramo da imamo prave razgovore

about this issue.

o ovom pitanju.

We cannot afford to be color blind.

Ne možemo priuštiti da budemo slepi za boje.

We have to be color brave.

Moramo biti hrabri za boje.

We have to be willing, as teachers and parents

Moramo biti spremni, kao učitelji i roditelji

and entrepreneurs and scientists,

i preduzetnici i naučnici,

we have to be willing to have

moramo biti spremni

proactive conversations about race

da proaktivno razgovaramo o rasi

with honesty and understanding and courage,

sa iskrenošću i razumevanjem i hrabrošću,

not because it's the right thing to do,

ne zato što je to prava stvar koju treba uraditi,

but because it's the smart thing to do,

već zato što je to pametna stvar koju treba uraditi,

because our businesses and our products

jer naši poslovi i naši proizvodi

and our science, our research,

i naša nauka, naša istraživanja,

all of that will be better with greater diversity.

sve to će biti bolje sa većom raznolikošću.

Now, my favorite example of color bravery

Moj omiljeni primer hrabrosti za boje

is a guy named John Skipper.

je tip po imenu Džon Skiper.

He runs ESPN.

On predvodi ESPN.

He's a North Carolina native,

Rodom je iz Severne Karoline,

quintessential Southern gentleman, white.

u suštini južnjački gospodin, belac.

He joined ESPN, which already had a culture

On se priključio ESPN-u, koji je već imao kulturu

of inclusion and diversity, but he took it up a notch.

inkluzije i raznovrsnosti, ali je on uložio dodatni trud.

He demanded that every open position

Zahtevao je da za svaku otvorenu poziciju

have a diverse slate of candidates.

postoji različit spisak kandidata.

Now he says the senior people

On kaže da su se stariji ljudi

in the beginning bristled,

u početku rogušili,

and they would come to him and say,

da bi došli kod njega i govorili:

"Do you want me to hire the minority,

"Da li hoćete da zaposlim manjine,

or do you want me to hire the best person for the job?"

ili hoćete da zaposlim najbolju osobu za posao?"

And Skipper says his answers were always the same:

A Skiper kaže da je odgovor uvek bio isti:

"Yes."

"Da."

And by saying yes to diversity,

I rekavši da različitosti,

I honestly believe that ESPN

iskreno verujem da je ESPN

is the most valuable cable franchise in the world.

najvrednija kablovska franšiza na svetu.

I think that's a part of the secret sauce.

Mislim da je to sastojak tajnog preliva.

Now I can tell you, in my own industry,

Mogu vam reći, u mojoj industriji,

at Ariel Investments, we actually view our diversity

u Ariel investicijama, mi zapravo vidimo našu raznolikost

as a competitive advantage,

kao kompetitivnu prednost,

and that advantage can extend way beyond business.

a ta prednost se širi daleko izvan poslovanja.

There's a guy named Scott Page at the University of Michigan.

Postoji tip po imenu Skot Pejdž na Univerzitetu Mičigen.

He is the first person to develop

On je prva osoba koja je razvila

a mathematical calculation for diversity.

matematički proračun za različitost.

He says, if you're trying to solve a really hard problem,

On kaže, ako pokušavate da rešite zaista težak problem,

really hard,

stvarno težak,

that you should have a diverse group of people,

da treba da uzmete raznovrsnu grupu ljudi,

including those with diverse intellects.

uključujući one sa različitim intelektima.

The example that he gives is the smallpox epidemic.

Primer koji on daje je epidemija velikih boginja.

When it was ravaging Europe,

Kada je ona harala Evropom,

they brought together all these scientists,

skupili su sve te naučnike,

and they were stumped.

i oni su bili zbunjeni.

And the beginnings of the cure to the disease

Počeci leka bolesti

came from the most unlikely source,

su došli iz najneverovatnijeg izvora,

a dairy farmer who noticed that the milkmaids

mlekara koji je primetio da mlekarke

were not getting smallpox.

ne dobijaju velike boginje.

And the smallpox vaccination is bovine-based

I vakcina za velike boginje je zasnovana na govedima

because of that dairy farmer.

zbog tog mlekara.

Now I'm sure you're sitting here and you're saying,

Sigurna sam da sedite ovde i kažete,

I don't run a cable company,

ja ne vodim kablovsku kompaniju,

I don't run an investment firm,

ne vodim investicionu firmu,

I am not a dairy farmer.

nisam mlekar.

What can I do?

Šta mogu da uradim?

And I'm telling you, you can be color brave.

I govorim vam, možete biti hrabri za boje.

If you're part of a hiring process

Ako ste deo procesa zapošljavanja

or an admissions process,

ili procesa prijema,

you can be color brave.

možete biti hrabri za boje.

If you are trying to solve a really hard problem,

Ako pokušavate da rešite stvarno težak problem,

you can speak up and be color brave.

možete da se izjasnite i budete hrabri za boje.

Now I know people will say,

Znam da će ljudi reći,

but that doesn't add up to a lot,

ali to ne vredi mnogo,

but I'm actually asking you to do something really simple:

ali vam zapravo tražim da učinite nešto stvarno jednostavno:

observe your environment,

posmatrajte svoju sredinu,

at work, at school, at home.

na poslu, u školi, kod kuće.

I'm asking you to look at the people around you

Tražim da pogledate ljude oko sebe

purposefully and intentionally.

sa svrhom i namerom.

Invite people into your life

Pozovite u svoj život ljude

who don't look like you, don't think like you,

koji ne izgledaju kao vi, ne misle kao vi,

don't act like you,

ne ponašaju se kao vi,

don't come from where you come from,

ne dolaze odande odakle vi dolazite,

and you might find that they will challenge your assumptions

i možda ćete otkriti da će oni dovesti u pitanje vaše pretpostavke

and make you grow as a person.

i učiniti da rastete kao osoba.

You might get powerful new insights

Možda ćete dobiti snažne nove uvide

from these individuals,

od ovih pojedinaca,

or, like my husband, who happens to be white,

ili, kao moj muž, koji je nekim slučajem belac,

you might learn that black people,

možda naučite da crnci,

men, women, children,

muškarci, žene, deca,

we use body lotion every single day.

mi koristimo losion za telo svakog dana.

Now, I also think that this is very important

Takođe mislim da je ovo veoma važno

so that the next generation really understands

da bi buduća generacija zaista razumela

that this progress will help them,

da će im ovaj napredak pomoći,

because they're expecting us to be great role models.

jer očekuju od nas da budemo sjajni uzori.

Now, I told you, my mother,

Rekla sam vam, moja majka,

she was ruthlessly realistic.

ona je bila surovo realna.

She was an unbelievable role model.

Bila je neverovatan uzor.

She was the kind of person

Bila je tip osobe

who got to be the way she was

koja je postala ono što jeste

because she was a single mom

zato što je bila samohrana majka

with six kids in Chicago.

sa šestoro dece u Čikagu.

She was in the real estate business,

Bila je u poslu sa nekretninama,

where she worked extraordinarily hard

gde je radila izuzetno vredno

but oftentimes had a hard time making ends meet.

ali često imala teškoća da sastavi kraj sa krajem.

And that meant sometimes we got

A to je značilo da bi nam ponekad

our phone disconnected,

telefon bio isključen,

or our lights turned off,

ili svetla ugašena,

or we got evicted.

ili smo izbacivani.

Kada bismo bili izbačeni, ponekad bismo živeli

When we got evicted, sometimes we lived

in these small apartments that she owned,

u malim stanovima koje je posedovala,

sometimes in only one or two rooms,

ponekad u samo jednoj sobi ili dvema,

because they weren't completed,

jer nisu bili završeni,

and we would heat our bathwater on hot plates.

i grejali bismo vodu za kupanje na ringli.

But she never gave up hope, ever,

Ali nikada nije gubila nadu, nikada,

and she never allowed us to give up hope either.

i nije dozvolila ni nama da izgubimo nadu.

This brutal pragmatism that she had,

Taj surovi pragmatizam koji je imala,

I mean, I was four and she told me,

mislim, imala sam četiri godine i rekla mi je:

"Mommy is Santa." (Laughter)

"Mama je Deda Mraz." (Smeh)

She was this brutal pragmatism.

Ona je bila taj surovi pragmatizam.

She taught me so many lessons,

Naučila me je tolikim lekcijama,

but the most important lesson

ali najvažnija lekcija

was that every single day she told me,

je da mi je svakog dana govorila:

"Mellody, you can be anything."

"Melodi, možeš biti bilo šta."

And because of those words,

I zbog tih reči,

I would wake up at the crack of dawn,

probudila bih se u cik zore,

and because of those words,

i zbog tih reči,

I would love school more than anything,

volela sam školu više od bilo čega,

and because of those words, when I was on a bus

i zbog tih reči, kada sam bila u autobusu

going to school, I dreamed the biggest dreams.

idući u školu, sanjala sam najveće snove.

And it's because of those words that I stand here right now

I zbog tih reči stojim ovde upravo sada

full of passion,

puna strasti,

asking you to be brave for the kids

tražeći od vas da budete hrabri zbog dece

who are dreaming those dreams today.

koja danas sanjaju te snove.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

You see, I want them to look at a CEO on television

Vidite, želim da gledaju direktore na televiziji

and say, "I can be like her,"

i kažu: "Ja mogu da budem kao ona",

or, "He looks like me."

ili: "On podseća na mene."

And I want them to know

I želim da znaju

that anything is possible,

da je sve moguće,

that they can achieve the highest level

da mogu postići više nivoe

that they ever imagined,

nego što su ikada zamišljali,

that they will be welcome in any corporate boardroom,

da će biti dobrodošli u bilo kojoj korporativnoj sali,

or they can lead any company.

ili da mogu da vode bilo koju kompaniju.

You see this idea of being the land

Vidite tu veliku ideju

of the free and the home of the brave,

o zemlji slobodnih i domu hrabrih,

it's woven into the fabric of America.

utkana je u tkaninu Amerike.

America, when we have a challenge,

Ameriko, kada imamo izazov,

we take it head on, we don't shrink away from it.

preuzimamo ga direktno, ne umanjujemo se pred njime.

We take a stand. We show courage.

Zauzimamo stav. Pokazujemo hrabrost.

So right now, what I'm asking you to do,

Dakle upravo sada, ono što tražim da učinite,

I'm asking you to show courage.

tražim da pokažete hrabrost.

I'm asking you to be bold.

Tražim da budete smeli.

As business leaders, I'm asking you

Kao od poslovnih vođa, tražim od vas

not to leave anything on the table.

da ništa ne ostavljate na stolu.

As citizens, I'm asking you not to leave any child behind.

Kao od građana, tražim da ne zapostavite nijedno dete.

I'm asking you not to be color blind,

Ne tražim da budete slepi za boje,

but to be color brave,

već da budete hrabri za boje,

so that every child knows that their future matters

tako da sva deca znaju da je njihova budućnost bitna

and their dreams are possible.

i da su njihovi snovi mogući.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you. Thanks. Thanks. (Applause)

Hvala vam. Hvala. Hvala. (Aplauz)