Dr. Amer F. Ahmed joins Francesca to discuss the roots of institutionalized racism under capitalism, and how individualization leads to forced assimilation to white culture, sharing his deep wisdom and rich experience working hands-on with the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Their conversation ranges from the very essential topic of institutionalized and anti-Black racism, to the implicit biases we may carry, and all the ways which that may play out structurally within our society, institutions, and families. Francesca and Dr. Ahmed peer into the nuanced layers and intersections surrounding these topics and the effects that they have on different ethnic, identity, and racial groups. Pertaining to these issues, through this conversation we learn how to have necessary conversations from the inside out, while also being able to hold vantage from the outside in. Dr. Ahmed is an organizational strategist who helps institutions and leaders address diversity and inclusion, equity, and intercultural development through consulting, coaching, group facilitation, and keynote speeches. A frequently requested speaker nationwide, Dr. Ahmed’s approach is grounded in a commitment to Inclusive Excellence in organizations and communities. He brings his identity as the son of Indian Muslim immigrants and extensive years as an intercultural and diversity consultant as the sources of a pivotal understanding of the depth of diversity and inclusion work. Throughout his career, Dr. Ahmed has worked with large organizations, higher education institutions, non-profit agencies, schools and community groups to create understanding and change among key constituents and institutional leaders. Dr. Ahmed’s new show, The Eclectic Inclusion Podcast launches July 6th at www.amerfahmed.com

Capitalism, Forced Assimilation, & the Void of Whiteness

Why does cultural appropriation run so rampant amongst white society? Dr. Ahmed shares that this is due to white people feeling emptiness within their cultural heritage. He brings up the history of the creation of the concept of race, with “whiteness” being an artificial construct made up in recent history to create an economic and social hierarchal structure within the system of capitalism when immigrants began settling in United States. At first groups like Italians and the Irish weren’t considered white, and suffered racism due to that, so they were left with the choice of either dropping their heritage and ‘becoming white,’ or continuing to suffer because of it. Due to this many white people are left in this void, reaching and searching for heritage and meaning. Since their culture was traded for capitalism, to fill that emptiness white people have grabbed onto cultural appropriation, sticking a price tag on a Buddha statue or peddling yoga in attempt to fill that cultural void, which, in turn, creates a loss of meaning, and ends up devaluing that which is commodified, so that void is never filled. That is why our cultural is stuck in the repetitive and destructive cycle of, “More, more more.”

“A lot of it is about capitalism. A lot of it is the replacement of identity…There was a choice especially for the marginalized ethnic Europeans of, ‘You either hold on to what you came from and suffer for that…or you assimilate.’ You give up the thing that is sacred to you, which is true for any human being; the values, the things you come from passed down generation after generation; you give that up for economic opportunity and access. Literally to become a manager in the industrialized United States, you needed to assimilate into this version of ‘white’ and you had to live in certain neighborhoods that were deemed white neighborhoods.” – Dr. Ahmed