Inside and outside

I want to talk for a moment about working in a large corporation and being outside.

I got flak, over the years, from poets and other artists and activists, about working in the Fortune 200. Here’s the way I looked at it:

I was a good boss, one who was sensitive to issues of race and ethnicity and gender dynamics and sexual orientation. And I kept educating myself — frequently, through the medium of poetry and through meeting people who woke me up even further.

When I moved into training and human resourcese, I was able to affect how other supervisors and managers saw some of those issues, as well as in basic good managment practice.

As I became more senior and had a greater impact on setting policy and practice, I was able to affect the overall company position on those efforts.

Not all activism takes place outside the corporate walls. My company had 130,000 employees. I hope I helped create a better workplace for at least some of them.