Staunton Vice Mayor Mark Robertson did what some white people do when they want to raise issue with efforts at diversity and inclusion: he quoted Martin Luther King Jr.
“I truly believe that you need to judge somebody on the content of their character and not the color of their skin, I truly do believe that,” Robertson said during a presentation to Staunton City Council last week on a proposed city equity and diversity board, according to reporting in the News Leader.
You can guess what was next.
“I totally disagree with the idea of having quotas, and our hiring system,” Robertson said, getting to the heart of the matter.
“It’s the person that has the best ability for that job that needs to get that job,” Robertson said.
Of course he said that.
No one has a problem with the best person getting the job. The question is, are the best people even interested?
Even Robertson seems to concede that the City of Staunton seems to have a problem getting people of color to apply for city jobs.
Wonder why that might be?
It can’t help having the vice mayor intimating that the only reason the city would hire a person of color would be to meet a quota.
Those who follow sports news have seen this issue playing out with the NFL and its dearth of black head coaches.
The NFL has a quota system, of sorts, in the form of a rule that requires teams to interview at least one candidate of color before making a final decision on a new hire.
The Rooney Rule, as it’s called, is most often used just as window dressing to give the appearance of inclusion and access in a process that is anything but inclusive or accessible to candidates of color.
Despite Robertson’s comments, City Council eventually moved to create an equity and diversity commission with a goal of having the commission seated by the end of May.
Whether it’s more than window dressing will depend on how much the city government organization buys into the importance of racial diversity as being more than just meeting a quota.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
