People of Color Affinity Group

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last person joined: 25 days ago 

The Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Affinity Group is committed to creating a community within the Society to connect thought leaders, senior managers, mid-career / young professionals, and students that identify as BIPOC – including Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinos and Hispanics across the globe – to enhance the recruitment, retention, and professional growth of BIPOC in the HF/E field. We welcome non-BIPOC committed to use their position to serve as advocates for improving diversity equity and inclusion for BIPOC.
  • 1.  Happy MLK Day HFES

    Posted 01-17-2022 10:55
    On a day like this, I'm reminded of my gratitude to others that strive to make a positive difference. I'm grateful for being surrounded by a supporting family and friends. Like many, I too sometimes experience times of "imposter syndrome", where I wonder how I have come to the positions that I'm in and why. My family, particularly my parents, aunts, and uncles are quick to remind me of the why's and how's. They remind me of the many accumulated successes that it took to get me where I am today, such as being a first generation college graduate, second engineer (two generations after the first), second PhD (one of my older cousins was first), first Technical Fellow, and a number of other achievements and positions, such as President of HFES.

    Beyond that, they remind me of what they did to get me to those opportunities that I was able to leverage...the "remember where you came from speech". They tell me of their struggles, such as working through difficult economic times while in Jamaica wondering where the next meal would come from, working their way through the American immigration system to become American citizens and seek better opportunities, working multiple jobs to house, cloth, and put food on the table for the kids, and then consistently hammering home the importance of getting an education, maintaining my integrity, and making sure my kids were better off than I was when I was young. I'm sure many of you can relate to this story in some way, as this is essentially the "American Dream". It is what motivates many of us to achieve and give back. It is also what motivates us to get up when we fall and find our way through when we're in our darkest hours.

    Yet, I wonder if I would have been able to achieve many of those if it wasn't for the struggles and achievements by the giants whose shoulders I stand on today. Martin Luther King (MLK) Day is an opportunity for us to remember not only the achievements of the past, but the struggles that we still face today around Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) in marginalized communities. Within HFES, I have made it a passion of mine to give back through different avenues when I can, such as the Mentoring/Practitioner Committees, Affinity Groups, and Diversity & Inclusion Committee. I encourage you all to do the same, whether through these HFES avenues, other public avenues, or by even privately mentoring those from marginalized communities. 

    As we celebrate MLK Day today, let's think about how we can continue to better those around us and move the science of HF/E forward into a more impactful capability to positively benefit those that may or may not, look, worship, or love the same as what we may be used to. Thank you to those that have mentored, coached, provided opportunity, and partnered with me on my HF/E & HFES journey so far. Please feel free to reach out to me (President@hfes.org), members of the HFES Executive Council, HFES staff, or the leaders of the groups noted above for any questions on how you can give back to HFES. 

    Happy MLK Day and One HFES!!!

    Chris

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    Christopher Reid
    HFES President
    Human Factors & Ergonomics Technical Fellow
    christopher.r.reid@boeing.com
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