Communication and tokenization

[Gaylen Beatty]

Hello all,

 

Something came across my desk that I’ve wondered about a lot and thought it might be helpful to share.

 

How to avoid tokenization with communication material and the desire to show diversity with people in the images.

 

1.      Frequently, we take photos of people of color at our programs, meetings, etc, and they’re used within the context of the photo and event. What we’ve heard from community is when that photo is used out of context by staff wanting to show “diversity”. The recommendation has been shared, "If you can't name everyone in the photo, don't use it."

 

2.      A colleague as a part of a large public meeting with elected officials/partners in the room, several images of community members of color were part of a PowerPoint being used. One of our community partners commented to the entire room, "I see lots of images of people of color being shown but I look around the room and only see white people in this decision making space."

 

Have a great weekend all!

Gaylen

 

 

Gaylen Beatty
Special Projects Manager
Parks and Nature

My gender pronouns: she, her, hers.

Metro | oregonmetro.gov
600 NE Grand Ave.
Portland, OR 97232-2736
503-813-7526