Inclusive Conversations

–( ELEVEN )–

Mind Your Words

Words matter. Words can hurt. Words can do irreparable damage. Or words can encourage. Words can affirm. Words can include and foster equity, empathy, and belonging.

 

We vividly remember the words that hurt, that cut at our very sense of self-worth long after they have been spoken. When I worked in the corporate world in the 1970s, I wore my hair in a short Afro style. One day, a colleague came into my office unannounced and uninvited and very directly asked: “Will your hair grow?” I answered in the affirmative and his response was “You ought to let it.” I was flabbergasted that he had the audacity to say something so insulting to me. I was so self-conscious after that encounter that I thought about buying a wig ...