Events in recent weeks remind us how far we have to go toward equity. The senseless killing of George Floyd, one of the latest in a recent, and historical, series of acts of violence perpetrated against Black men and women, sickens and saddens us.
At this pivotal time in history, AHP stands for a world in which Black people have the social, economic, and political power to thrive, and every person is deserving of equality, safety, and freedom.
This excerpt from the AHP Code of Ethics underscores our belief:
Commitment to Uphold the Inherent Worth of All Individuals
“I will demonstrate compassion, respect, and tolerance for others. I will seek to end discrimination, misunderstandings, and prejudice … I will not refuse service to any client based on disability, ethnicity, gender, marital status, physical build, or sexual orientation; religious, national, or political affiliation; [or] social or economic status.”
It will take each of us adopting new behaviors to judge everyone on their character, integrity, and humanity, rather than on their origin or skin color, to create a society in which no one walks out of their home worried about how they will be treated, much less their physical safety.
But these things are easy to say.
In the past few weeks, our leadership team has asked itself hard questions and reflected on the role we’ve played in systemic racism, asking ourselves what that means, how we’ve passively contributed, and how we’ve benefited. These are uncomfortable conversations, but necessary. As we reflect, we are refocusing our recruiting and hiring practices and our content sourcing. We are discussing our leadership diversity and strategies we can take to increase it. We will continue to ask ourselves these tough questions and are ready to listen and learn.
A system that devalues Black lives is intolerable. Part of the solution includes looking in the mirror and acknowledging that such a system is bad for all of us.
Please join us as we support each other at this crucial time and endeavor to create a better and more inclusive world by rooting out prejudiced actions, both conscious and unconscious, as a critical step in the effort to end systemic racism.
We would like to begin with a small but, we hope, meaningful step. Our team will be taking the course “Unconscious Bias” by our friends at Healwell, and we have partnered with them to provide the course for free to the hair and cosmetology profession now through the end of July at healwell.thinkific.com/courses/unconscious-bias. We hope you, like us, learn from this valuable material.
Les Sweeney
President/CEO
Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals
Associated Skin Care Professionals
Associated Hair Professionals
Associated Nail Professionals
