John Rice (MBA 1992)

John Rice (MBA 1992)

Will the weeks of protest and statements of support for racial equity lead to lasting change for the country—or will we once again lose steam and move on to the next crisis, without making something of this moment? In “The Difference Between First-Degree Racism and Third-Degree Racism,” published in The Atlantic, John Rice (MBA 1992) proposes a way forward. We can end racism, he writes, by increasing its cost.

The founder and CEO of the nonprofit Management Leadership for Tomorrow, where he has worked with more than 120 employers to support their diversity strategies and advanced more than 8,000 people of color toward leadership positions, Rice writes that the first step is to define what constitutes racist behavior.

He outlines three degrees: Racism in the first degree describes actions that are overtly prejudiced, such as policing black citizens differently than whites. Second-degree racism is the aiding and abetting that takes place when one turns their back on anti-racist efforts or demonizes those who try to tackle racist behavior. Take the NFL, for example, and the way it avoided dealing with Colin Kaepernick until its sponsors and players—spurred into action after the death of George Floyd—spoke out.

“The final, most pernicious category undergirds the everyday black experience,” Rice writes. These practices put people of color at a disadvantage in the competition with their white peers for career advancement and economic opportunity. An organization cannot be a meritocracy when the small number of black employees spend a significant percentage of their mental bandwidth wondering, “Why aren’t there more people like me? Am I being treated differently?” These questions detract from a person’s ability to compete for promotions with peers, Rice writes. Or when employers produce diversity plans that lack the rigor that is expected of every other part of the business practice—a fact-based diagnosis of the problem, quantifiable goals, interim progress metrics, clear accountability—these actions reinforce the power of white people, he says.

Eliminating this kind of racism would expand the economic power of people of color, but it is especially difficult to root out “because many of our most enlightened white leaders do not even realize what they are doing,” he writes. Rice suggests calling on employers to agree to basic practices, such as acknowledging what constitutes third-degree racism so there is no hiding behind a lack of understanding; committing to diversity plans that meet a carefully considered standard of rigor; and delivering outcomes in which people of color have the same opportunities to advance.

“Then more people of color will become economically mobile, organizations will become more diverse and competitive, and there will be a critical mass of black leaders whose institutional influence leads to more racially equitable behavior. These leaders will also have the economic power to further elevate the cost of all other types of racist behavior, in policing, criminal justice, housing, K–12 education, and health care—systems that for decades have been putting knees on the necks of our most vulnerable citizens and communities,” Rice writes.

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