Dear editor:
I want to respond to the Windy City Times article of Aug. 19 titled "Organization leaders discuss board diversity strategies," which was itself a reaction to the survey in the July 22 issue concerning diversity in some LGBT organizations or agencies in Chicago.
While I agree that the number of people represented on boards is important, I also think that other issuessuch as the issue of cultural sensitivity or how people are treated in the environment of these organizations or agenciesare even more important. Individuals who are different from the majority may still be ostracized by the dominant group, even if the board has fairly diverse representation. Is the organization or agency reaching people from different parts of the city or only from one particular neighborhood?
From an historical perspective and using the 1993 March on Washington as an example, the issues of race and gender parity were addressed during meetings prior to the event, but there was still a breakdown in addressing the needs of people of color or of queer and transgender people as the event unfolded.
I think the survey is one step but that more needs to be done in recognizing and celebrating the differences within the LGBT population of Chicago.
Darrell Gordon