Photo By Shelby West | MA1 Brenda Brooks presents the U.S. flag to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Director...... read more read more
At Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) “Unity at our C.O.R.E.” command event June 9, Shipyard Commander Captain Kai Torkelson said to begin fixing a problem, one must first acknowledge that there is one and commit to understanding it.
This gathering was held to recognize the nationwide demonstrations and outcries in the past two weeks about race relations in our country, and address the pain members of the NNSY workforce have been experiencing. The event also focused on the shipyard’s organizational C.O.R.E. values, which are demonstrating Care, Ownership, and Respect with one another to achieve Excellence.
In his remarks, Torkelson committed to being empathetic and listening to better understand the Black American experience in today’s society, centering on what he outlined as three A’s—acknowledgement of the issues, authenticity in sharing experiences, and actions in committing to a better tomorrow. “I need more knowledge because I do not know what it is like to walk in the shoes of a Black American,” Torkelson said. “The discussions I have had with my seven-year-old daughter about this are ones that should have happened before George Floyd’s death. I need to step up the level of respect given to Black Americans who have been disrespected for a long time.”
Discussing the importance of ensuring a more inclusive workplace, Torkelson added “as with healing from a great injury, this will be an ongoing process—it may feel slow at times, even painful at times, but entirely necessary to get to where we need to be in modeling how we want our country to look, to act, to be. Just as we need daily commitment and dedication to stopping the spread of COVID-19, we need daily commitment and dedication in America’s Shipyard to stamping out racism, injustice, indignity and disrespect. It will not be tolerated.”
Torkelson held a moment of silence encouraging each person to reflect in their own way. In an expression of solidarity, Torkelson took a knee in remembrance of George Floyd and in honor of all Black Americans.
Racism has deep roots in United States history and culture, but it was the undeniable videotape of George Floyd’s murder—one of the latest in a long line of Black Americans who have died in a similar fashion—that recently brought the issue to the forefront of national conversation.
Righteous anger and outrage have been felt across the world as protests have been held in all 50 states and several countries. These feelings have also been felt by the NNSY workforce. As a member of Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) Inclusion and Engagement (I&E) Council and Chairman of the NNSY African American Employee Resource Group (AA-ERG) Michael Taylor explained, “Once employees and military members of color step outside of the shipyard and take off that uniform, they are only seen by the color of their skin, rather than who they are professionally. Life should not follow you into the shipyard, but it does. I am not just the chairman of the AA-ERG, I am a Black American with children dealing with such situations internally. I am thinking of all the African American children I talk to and mentor when it comes to issues like this.”
This pain felt by the workforce led to the planning of the unity event, according to Taylor and NNSY’s D&I Director Tarane Parker. “There was a need to address the anger, hurt, and pain NNSY employees are experiencing now because of George Floyd’s death,” Parker said. “The Unity at our C.O.R.E. command event was set up to bring NNSY together to address the issues, acknowledge that our workforce is experiencing a myriad of emotions, and encourage everyone to come together and unite as one. There is no better time to advocate for change than now.”
At the event, Parker emphasized what is at stake when people die and others choose to ignore racism in their own lives. “George Floyd’s death doesn’t have to go down in vain,” Parker said. “Even his six-year-old daughter said that her daddy had changed the world. It saddens me that another unarmed black man had to die, on camera, for the world to realize that things have gone too far, and it’s time for some serious change. It’s time to level up. It’s time to stand up and be heard. It’s time to address things that truly matter because it’s better to have a difficult conversation than no conversation at all because silence is deafening,” he said.
He added a crucial point when he discussed the origin of the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of the movement to all Americans. “The name does not mean that black lives matter above others, but rather that black lives matter as much as others. All lives do matter, but to honestly say that, black lives need to be included.”
Parker said that necessary change starts with the self-evaluation of what one is doing, and asking if he or she is doing everything they can. The process is ongoing and occasionally uncomfortable, but it is an opportunity to do better. All the individual has to do is take the first step.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2020 08:55 |
| Story ID: | 371881 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, “Unity at our C.O.R.E.”: Norfolk Naval Shipyard Holds Ceremony Committing to Valuing and Respecting All Employees, by Hannah Bondoc, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
