In reviewing the resources for ULI Washington’s August installment for our Summer Equity Challenge, I cannot help but consider the parallels between what we are seeing with our national ability to combat the pandemic, and the systemic racial gaps we are experiencing locally and nationally. These are all symptoms of our larger problems, so I was particularly drawn to prescriptive approaches that each of us can take to make things better centering around the articles “What if instead of calling people out, we called them in?” (NY Times by Jessica Bennett) and “It’s time for a new approach to racial equity” (McKinsey & Co. by Earl Fitzhugh, JP Julien, Nick Noel, Shelley Stewart).

The Climate Divide and the Old Mason-Dixon Line | Ray C. Anderson FoundationFirst the diagnosis – the COVID hot spot map in the New York Times as of August 23, 2021 looks terribly correlated with the Slavery Compromise Map of the Mason Dixon Line of 1850. This reflects challenges our country has faced from its very founding in the tension of urban policies versus rural policies, and how 200 years later some of these divides (education, wealth, etc.) are larger than ever. These factors reflect the legacy of our nation’s original sin of slavery. They remind us that all of us individually and collectively through organizations like ULI need to continue to work towards acknowledging these challenges. Beyond sheer acknowledgement, we need to make better efforts to improve our interactions with each other and our respective communities.

For the first time in my lifetime as a member of Generation X I really believe that these difficult discussions around race have been elevated to every segment of our society and are no longer just a topic top-of-mind for minorities. As an Asian American who grew up in a predominantly white upstate New York community, I have always been hyperaware of race. I have always felt that it was up to me individually to respond to every micro-aggression or moment of ignorance. Nobody wants to be considered “ignorant,” and I truly believe that 99 percent of our fellow citizens believe themselves to be truly good and non-racist.

We are still learning the nuances such as when someone asks me, “Where are you from?” (My standard answer is “New York” but invariably additional questions will yield the desired answer of my parents’ ancestry from Taiwan.) These questions may be from well-intended individuals, but they highlight the challenge that our society equates my Asian American identity as foreign first. More dangerously, the pandemic and its origins in China, exacerbated by the politicization of the COVID-19 virus, have resulted in thousands of violent attacks on Asian Americans. Today, we are increasingly aware that it is not just the intent of the person that matters, but how their comments are received and perceived. Ultimately, it is how these comments enter the mainstream in the echo chamber of social media that is resulting in many unintended consequences.

Each of these incidents offers a teachable moment that I have taken the time to explain. Whether it’s the nuances of being a New Yorker versus a Taiwanese American versus a perceived member of another East Asian ethnicity. For the full range of incidents, from micro-aggressions to truly dangerous behaviors, Jessica Bennett’s article notes that calling people out has the following characteristics: “Presumption of Guilt (without facts of nuance getting in the way); Essentialism (when criticism of a bad act becomes criticizing a bad person); pseudo-intellectualism (proclaiming one’s moral high ground); unforgivability (no apology is good enough); and contamination or guilt by association.”

In my experience, cancelling someone or ridiculing them has always been a lost opportunity to bring someone into my tent of understanding and experience. Mix in the virulence of social media, and we quickly have ruined careers and reputations – perhaps even the seeds for future resentment and true hate. Real dialogue cannot happen in 280 characters or less.

Beyond individual engagement opportunities, education and “call-in,” the framework offered by the McKinsey team, suggests a way forward collectively. Thinking about racial equity and the unique challenges each segment of our society is facing at this moment, their prescription resonates deeply about what we achieve together.

1. Uniting around a clear mission

2. Coordinating and collaborating via a central backbone

3. Securing adequate and appropriate funding

4. Ensuring accountability

5. Winning and maintaining support from a broad set of stakeholders

I credit ULI Washington’s longstanding commitment to diversity with fostering a strong, resilient, and aware membership. After redoubling their efforts in recent years, their initiatives grew to include the Pathways to Inclusion program in 2019 and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee in 2020. If not ULI as the central backbone to help our industry coordinate and collaborate to advance diversity then who?

ULI Washington’s Summer Equity Challenge may be coming to a close, but these assembled resources will remain available for free online. We all need to challenge each other individually and come together collectively to move the needle of racial equity. Not all of us agree with the views in this collection of resources, but that is what makes our country great. Outcomes born from a healthy tension of dialogue, debate, and decision have always served us best.

On a personal note, I will be wrapping up at the end of this summer a terrific ride with WashREIT where we built a tremendously diverse team, and I look forward to bringing this same diversity of thought and being towards the next team I can be privileged to help build and lead. I will be bringing an expanded toolkit with me thanks to the Summer Equity Challenge which can help all our companies, our communities, and, ultimately, our country.

Anthony Chang

Vice President of Asset Management, WashREIT

ULIW Chair for Mission Advancement

Governance Committee Member

Programs Committee Co-Chair