Dignity: Move Forward 

In my life’s journey I have learned and discovered many things. I have learned much about myself and about others as well as the value of treating people with dignity. Honoring dignity you might think is an easy thing to do but it takes those hard lessons and all our mistakes to finally see how honoring dignity is our only choice if our desire is to change ourselves and bring hope to others. I think one of the big killers of dignity is when we act on our biases. I have written a lot about the subject of biases because I know it is what has led me down the wrong path for much of my early twenties and thirties. I am not saying I do not have biases. I am saying that I work to not allow them to guide me when I interact with others. I know the pain of biases when they have been used against me and the pain they cause when I have been the perpetrator of this behavior.  

When I became the Diversity Officer for Berkshire Health Systems, I would tell everyone that I am the diversity officer for all 4000 employees in the health system as well as all 130,000 people who live in our community. I am here to help everyone no matter their race, ethnicity, or their beliefs. For me to do that I have to learn to overcome my biases that drove my behavior and my choices. It is something I work towards every day. The “I” in DEI stands for inclusion. How can I be successful in my work to improve the health of all in Berkshire County if I am not inclusive. We may recognize a gap in care or maybe that we need more diversity in leadership but as we work to correct those things, I will always remember that I am the DEI Officer for all INDIVIDUALS in my community.  

The thing I struggle with the most is when we assume because someone looks a certain way or talks a certain way, they have the same beliefs and if you act outside those beliefs then you are no longer part of the group. Here is an example that I experienced. I had a conversation with someone, and I agreed with someone in politics who happens to lean conservative. I thought the person (who was white) was going to fall out of her chair. Because I took a stand that she felt was not how Black people thought then in her words, I am not “really Black.” Her bias would not allow her to be open to the thought that as an individual I could have independent thought. But for me it supported that same old bias that all Black people lookalike, soundalike, and think the same. This is a bias I battle with frequently.  

Dr. Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Now we can debate what Dr. King meant by that but for me I hold the belief that if you have strong character and strong beliefs then people can see past how you look on the outside and judge you as the person you are on the inside. The twenty-year-old Charles would not be seen in the same light as the almost sixty-year-old Charles. There are still dents in this armor, but I am hammering them out one dent at a time. I know what it feels like to be judged by my outward appearance and because I know that feeling I will not do that to others. I know what it is like to be judged by your mistakes but if you are a person that looks to change, I will be there by your side to help you move forward just like so many have done for me. 

When we honor dignity, we give hope to those who have lost hope because we are able to open our hearts to them and let them know that there is something better out there for them. I know this to be true because when I refused to honor my own dignity many people saw my potential and helped me to grow into the person I am today.  

I pay it forward and then I get to move forward with those I have helped and those who have helped me. 

Charles Redd RN 

Dignity Freedom Fighter