racial discrimination
Any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent,
or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or
impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural or any other field of public life.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

African American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)

Rosa Parks
“ “
People always say that I didn't give
up my seat because I was tired, but
that isn't true. I was not tired
physically, or no more tired than I
usually was at the end of a working
day. I was not old, although some
people have an image of me as being
old then. I was forty-two. No, the
only tired I was, was tired of giving
in.
Montgomery, Alabama
December 1, 1955

Happened 1996. Nearly four decades after American Civil Rights.
Racism In The Workplace

Wayne A. Elliott
Lockheed Martin Corp.
Military-aircraft production facilities. Marietta, Ga.
1996
African American

Being called “boy”
“Kiss my butt”
Collecting parts to be boxed – walking around 10 miles
a day

Workers Against
Discrimination

“Back-to-
“Back-to-Africa tickets”
Just sprinkle this dingy black dust on any sidewalk and piss on it, and,
presto! Hundreds of n—s spring up!

Hangmans’ noose threat

Ku Klux Klan
Several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally
in the southern states, that are best known for advocating white supremacy and acting as
vigilantes while hidden behind conic masks and white robes.
Founded in 1865 by veterans of the Confederate Army.

“We do not tolerate, nor have we ever tolerated,
harassment or discrimination of any form. We take
such complaints very seriously, and we always have
investigated them and taken appropriate action when
needed.”
Sam Grizzle – Lockheed spokesman

Minority employment grew by 36%.
However, racial harassment charges have
jumped by 100% since 1990.

“It’s like rape, which everyone kept silent about before.”

Silence
Why nobody wants to talk about it?

Racial harassment allegations can be so embarrassing and
pose a difficult challenge for companies

“It’s just a joke”
“Those weren’t racial remarks”
“You are exaggerating”

Revenge
Reason why helps rarely there

Whites who stand up for co-workers also can run into trouble

“They are trying to make you in-subordinate, to create an
excuse to fire you.”

Escalate the
problem?
Keep silent?
Milton Friedman

Consequences

What are the impacts?
Who got the disadvantages/loss?

Deontology

Company Point of View –
What should the management level do?
The Victim Point of View –
What are the rights of man?
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 1966

Human Nature

What should a man do toward the others?
Basic Human Rights

“ “
“I did not want to be mistreated, I did not want to be
deprived of a seat that I had paid for. It was just
time... there was opportunity for me to take a stand
to express the way I felt about being treated in that
manner. I had not planned to get arrested. I had
plenty to do without having to end up in jail. But
when I had to face that decision, I didn't hesitate to
do so because I felt that we had endured that too
long. The more we gave in, the more we complied
with that kind of treatment, the more oppressive it
became.”
Rosa Parks

“States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate
racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the
right of everyone, without distinction as to race, color, or
national or ethnic origin, to equality before the law”
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination