So you got the job. Now what? Join me, Eleni Mata, on HBR's new original podcast, New

Here, the Young Professionals Guide to Work, and how to make it work for you. Listen for

free wherever you get your podcasts. Just search New Here. See you there!

Welcome to the HBR idea cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Alison Beard.

Over the past few years in the United States, we've seen some horrific examples of racism,

directed at black Americans, Latinos, Asians, Jewish people, and those of Arab descent.

We've heard anti-immigrant slurs, seen people of color attacked, and if we could stomach it,

watch the murders of George Floyd and Amata. Amid all these tragedies and the public protest

that followed, many US business leaders promised they would do their part to fight the problem.

They committed to making their workplaces more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. They

came out strong. But for the past year and a half, they've been struggling with the hard

part, putting their words into action, actually seizing this window of opportunity to make

lasting change. Our guests today are here to help. James White is the former chair president

and CEO of John Butchus, drawing on his experiences, turning that company into one that delivered

on DEI, and his conversations and work with other executives doing the same. He and his

daughter, Christa White, wrote the book, Anti-Races Leadership, How to Transform Corporate

Culture in a Race-Conscious World. They also wrote the related HBR article, How to Build

an Anti-Races Company. James and Christa, thank you so much for being on the show.

We're thrilled to be on with you today. Thank you for having us.

As black Americans yourselves, this is obviously a pretty personal issue for you. I know this

might be opening a huge kind of worms right at the start, but could you first tell me a little

bit about your own lives and career experiences and how they've shaped your thinking on these

...