You’ve probably seen the op-ed penned by a white male RD in response to the NYT article written by @priyakrishna. In the past couple of days, I’ve been angry and disheartened by the colleagues and a major RD organization that have supported the writer’s view.

This person couldn't even wait a week to reflect on how he is complicit in the systemic racism that affects every healthcare field (dietetics included).

When you're the oppressor and NOT the oppressed, you lift the voices of those asking for liberation instead of giving your opinion. That is your place in “the conversation.”

Instead, this person chose to gaslight the RDs who risked their professional careers to speak about the injustices they have experienced. Furthermore, he publicly named 2 Black RDs and questioned the validity of their experiences. This is the violence of white supremacy.

The author also carelessly mischaracterized RDs for Change, a Facebook group I helped co-found. He reported that we sought to establish a database to unfairly punish anyone who committed racially-motivated microaggressions.

The exact wording in our letter was to “implement an ethics reporting system for intentional violations of cultural sensitivity.” He was apparently in a hurry and forgot to include proper sources or references.

The letter the op-ed linked to was sent by Academy MIG/DPG leadership, representing >70k members. They asked for accountability (similar to ethics violation reporting) for observed asks of racism and obviously didn’t mean members should be punished for unintentional acts.

Additionally, the MIG/DPG letter shows that the efforts of many (including the Diversity and Inclusion Committee) have continued to be stymied by the highest level of Academy leadership.

The author suggests diversity efforts = only diversity of RDs. BIPOC are also asking for inclusion (dismantling barriers to resources/opportunities), equity (ensuring equal access to resources/opportunities), and justice (centering/amplifying voices of those facing barriers).

(See the @TheAvarnaGroup's excellent definitions). This includes (among other things) requiring cultural humility and racial justice education, hiring a permanent VP of Diversity and Inclusion, and paying BIPOC instead of relying on volunteers to do diversity work.

Whether we like it or not, the Academy (and associated agencies) play a huge role in shaping the future of dietetics. I love my profession and thus ask “the largest body of food and nutritional professionals” to support BIPOC and pursue diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice.

If you're here and you agree, the work is ongoing. Support @diversifyrdn and listen and support your BIPOC colleagues asking for change.