My friend Harold Ford calls me.

我的朋友Harold Ford給我打電話

He's running for U.S. Senate in Tennessee,

他正在競選田納西州美國參議員

and he says, "Mellody, I desperately need some national press. Do you have any ideas?"

他說：「Mellody，我現在非常需要接觸全國性的媒體，你有什麼辦法嗎？ 」

So I had an idea. I called a friend

我想到了一個主意，於是給一個朋友打電話

who was in New York

這位朋友在紐約

at one of the most successful media companies in the world,

一家世界上最著名的媒體公司任職

and she said, "Why don't we host

她說：「為什麼不為Harold

an editorial board lunch for Harold?

舉辦一個媒體主編的午餐會呢？

You come with him."

你和他都來參加。 」

Harold and I arrive in New York.

於是Harold和我來到紐約

We are in our best suits.

我們穿著最好的禮服

We look like shiny new pennies.

我們看起來像是閃閃發亮的硬幣

And we get to the receptionist, and we say,

我們來到接待處，說：

"We're here for the lunch."

「我們來參加午餐會。 」

She motions for us to follow her.

她示意我們跟她走

We walk through a series of corridors,

我們穿過一連串的走廊

and all of a sudden we find ourselves

最後發現我們來到

in a stark room,

一個空空蕩蕩的房間

at which point she looks at us and she says,

她看著我們說：

"Where are your uniforms?"

「你們的工裝呢？ 」

Just as this happens,

聽到這句話

my friend rushes in.

我的朋友衝進去了

The blood drains from her face.

血液湧到臉上

There are literally no words, right?

徹底無語了，對嗎？

And I look at her, and I say,

我看著她，說：

"Now, don't you think we need

「現在，你不覺得我們在美國參議院

more than one black person in the U.S. Senate?"

需要不止一位黑人嗎？ 」

Now Harold and I --

Harold和我……

(Applause) —

（鼓掌）

we still laugh about that story,

現在回憶起來還是覺得很有趣

and in many ways, the moment caught me off guard,

無論怎麼說，這句話的確讓我措手不及

but deep, deep down inside,

但是在更深層次的內心裡

I actually wasn't surprised.

我其實一點都不吃驚

And I wasn't surprised because of something

那是因為

my mother taught me about 30 years before.

我的母親在30年前教給我的某些東西

You see, my mother was ruthlessly realistic.

我的母親是極為現實的一個人

I remember one day coming home from a birthday party

我記得，有一天參加一個生日聚會之後回到家

where I was the only black kid invited,

我是唯一一個被邀請的黑人小孩

and instead of asking me the normal motherly questions

她並沒有問我那些大多數母親都會問的問題

like, "Did you have fun?" or "How was the cake?"

比如「過得愉快嗎？或者「蛋糕好吃嗎？ 」

my mother looked at me and she said,

我母親看著我說：

"How did they treat you?"

「他們怎麼對待你？ 」

I was seven. I did not understand.

我只有7歲，不明白什麼意思

I mean, why would anyone treat me differently?

為什麼有人會用不同的方式對待我？

But she knew.

但是她知道

And she looked me right in the eye and she said,

她直勾勾地看著我的眼睛說：

"They will not always treat you well."

「他們永遠不會好好待你。 」

Now, race is one of those topics in America

種族，在美國是讓人

that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable.

感覺最不舒服的話題之一

You bring it up at a dinner party

在晚宴上或者在工作場所

or in a workplace environment,

提出這個話題

it is literally the conversational equivalent

絕對會讓談話的氣氛

of touching the third rail.

急轉直下

There is shock,

長時間沉默之後

followed by a long silence.

是眾人的震驚

And even coming here today,

即使今天來到這裡

I told some friends and colleagues

我告訴一些同事和朋友

that I planned to talk about race,

我打算談一談種族

and they warned me, they told me, don't do it,

他們警告我，不要談這個話題

that there'd be huge risks

由我來談這件事

in me talking about this topic,

風險太大了

that people might think I'm a militant black woman

人們會覺得我是個激進的黑人女性

and I would ruin my career.

我的職業會被毀掉

And I have to tell you,

而我必須要說

I actually for a moment was a bit afraid.

有那麼一陣，我的確比較害怕

Then I realized,

但是我知道

the first step to solving any problem

解決任何問題的第一步

is to not hide from it,

都是不要回避

and the first step to any form of action

任何行動的第一步

is awareness.

都是意識到問題的存在

And so I decided to actually talk about race.

於是我決定就來談談種族問題

And I decided that if I came here and shared with you

我決定來到這裡，和你們分享

some of my experiences,

我個人的經歷

that maybe we could all be a little less anxious

或許這可以減少大家的一些焦慮

and a little more bold

增加大家的一些勇氣

in our conversations about race.

來真正面對種族問題

Now I know there are people out there who will say

我知道很多人會說

that the election of Barack Obama meant

巴拉克奧巴馬的成功當選

that it was the end of racial discrimination

說明種族歧視早已不復存在了

for all eternity, right?

對嗎？

But I work in the investment business,

我在投資行業工作

and we have a saying:

在業內有一句話：

The numbers do not lie.

數字不會說謊

And here, there are significant,

這裡有一些重要的

quantifiable racial disparities

可量化的種族差異現象

that cannot be ignored,

無法被忽視

in household wealth, household income,

包括家庭財產、家庭收入

job opportunities, healthcare.

就業機會、醫療保障

One example from corporate America:

美國企業的一項資料顯示

Even though white men

即使白人男性

make up just 30 percent of the U.S. population,

占美國總人口的30％

they hold 70 percent of all corporate board seats.

但他們佔據了財富250強企業

Of the Fortune 250,

中董事會席位的70％

there are only seven CEOs that are minorities,

只有7位CEO來自少數民族

and of the thousands of publicly traded companies today, thousands,

在如今數千家公開上市的企業中，數千家

only two are chaired by black women,

只有兩位黑人女性總裁

and you're looking at one of them,

你們眼前的就是其中之一

the same one who, not too long ago,

而就是這個人，在不久之前

was nearly mistaken for kitchen help.

差點被人當作是幫廚

So that is a fact.

這就是事實

Now I have this thought experiment

我自己的腦海裡

that I play with myself, when I say,

經常玩味著這樣一個場景

imagine if I walked you into a room

想像著我走入一個房間

and it was of a major corporation, like ExxonMobil,

是一個大公司，就像埃克森美孚

and every single person around the boardroom were black,

董事會房間裡的人全部都是黑人

you would think that were weird.

你肯定覺得很怪異

But if I walked you into a Fortune 500 company,

但是如果我帶你走入一家財富500強公司

and everyone around the table is a white male,

坐在桌子旁邊的都是白人男性

when will it be that we think that's weird too?

你也會覺得奇怪嗎？

And I know how we got here.

我知道這是為什麼

(Applause)

（掌聲）

I know how we got here.

我知道這是為什麼

You know, there was institutionalized,

你知道，我們的國家曾經有制度化的

at one time legalized, discrimination in our country.

甚至有一段時期是合法的歧視

There's no question about it.

這是毫無疑問的

But still, as I grapple with this issue,

但是，當我糾結於這個念頭時

my mother's question hangs in the air for me:

母親的問題迴響在我耳邊

How did they treat you?

他們怎麼對待你？

Now, I do not raise this issue to complain

我提出這個問題，並不是要抱怨

or in any way to elicit any kind of sympathy.

也不是要索取同情

I have succeeded in my life

我是一個成功人士

beyond my wildest expectations,

遠超過我以前的想像

and I have been treated well by people of all races

各種族人士對我都很好

more often than I have not.

大多數情況下如此

I tell the uniform story because it happened.

我講述工裝的故事因為它的的確確發生了

I cite those statistics around corporate board diversity

我引用公司高管多樣化的統計資料

because they are real,

因為它們都是真實的

and I stand here today

我今天站在這裡

talking about this issue of racial discrimination

談論種族歧視的問題

because I believe it threatens to rob

是因為我相信它威脅到

another generation of all the opportunities

我們期望我們的孩子可以享有的

that all of us want for all of our children,

平等的機會

no matter what their color

無論他們的膚色

or where they come from.

和出身

And I think it also threatens to hold back businesses.

我還認為它會遏制商業的發展

You see, researchers have coined this term

你知道，專家們已經創造了這個名詞

"color blindness"

「色盲 」

to describe a learned behavior where we pretend

來描述一種我們假裝不關注

that we don't notice race.

種族的後天行為狀態

If you happen to be surrounded by a bunch of people

如果你碰巧和一群與你外貌相似的人

who look like you, that's purely accidental.

聚在一起，那完全是偶然的

Now, color blindness, in my view,

在我看來，色盲

doesn't mean that there's no racial discrimination,

並不代表沒有種族歧視

and there's fairness.

也不代表公平

It doesn't mean that at all. It doesn't ensure it.

完全不是這個意思，完全沒有關係

In my view, color blindness is very dangerous

在我看來，色盲是非常危險的

because it means we're ignoring the problem.

因為它說明我們有意忽略一些問題

There was a corporate study that said that,

有關美國企業的研究顯示

instead of avoiding race,

真正聰明的公司

the really smart corporations actually deal with it head on.

不回避種族問題，而是採用直面的方式處理

They actually recognize that embracing diversity

他們實際上承認，接受多樣化

means recognizing all races,

就等於認可所有的種族

including the majority one.

也包括多數種族

But I'll be the first one to tell you,

但是，讓我來第一個告訴你

this subject matter can be hard,

這個話題既艱難

awkward, uncomfortable -- but that's kind of the point.

又尷尬、不討好——但卻是問題的實質

In the spirit of debunking racial stereotypes,

本著推翻種族偏見的精神

the one that black people don't like to swim,

比如說黑人不喜歡游泳

I'm going to tell you how much I love to swim.

我會告訴你，我有多麼的喜歡游泳

I love to swim so much

我對游泳的喜愛

that as an adult, I swim with a coach.

讓我在成年之後還找了一個游泳教練

And one day my coach had me do a drill

一天，教練讓我做一個練習

where I had to swim to one end of a 25-meter pool

我需要從一個25米長的泳池的一端遊到另一端

without taking a breath.

中間不能換氣

And every single time I failed,

第一次我沒能做到

I had to start over.

不得不再試一次

And I failed a lot.

結果我失敗了好多次

By the end, I got it, but when I got out of the pool,

最後我終於做到了，我爬出泳池

I was exasperated and tired and annoyed,

疲憊不堪，憤怒又氣惱

and I said, "Why are we doing breath-holding exercises?"

我說：「我們為什麼要做憋氣的練習？ 」

And my coach looked me at me, and he said, "Mellody,

我的教練看著我，說：「Mellody，

that was not a breath-holding exercise.

這並不是一個憋氣的練習

That drill was to make you comfortable

這是為了讓你把不舒服

being uncomfortable,

習慣成舒服

because that's how most of us spend our days."

因為這是我們大部分人過日子的方式。 」

If we can learn to deal with our discomfort,

如果我們學會應對不適感

and just relax into it,

變得習以為常

we'll have a better life.

我們的生活會變得更好

So I think it's time for us to be comfortable

所以我認為現在我們應該讓自己習慣

with the uncomfortable conversation about race:

種族這個不舒服的話題

black, white, Asian, Hispanic,

黑人、白人、亞洲人、西班牙人

male, female, all of us,

男人、女人、所有的人

if we truly believe in equal rights

如果我們真正相信，在美國

and equal opportunity in America,

有平等的權利和機會

I think we have to have real conversations

那麼我們必須認真討論

about this issue.

這個話題

We cannot afford to be color blind.

我們無法承受色盲的代價

We have to be color brave.

我們必須要「色勇 」

We have to be willing, as teachers and parents

我們必須要有意願，作為教師和父母

and entrepreneurs and scientists,

企業家和科學家

we have to be willing to have

我們必須有意願

proactive conversations about race

針對種族問題開展前瞻性的對話

with honesty and understanding and courage,

帶著坦誠、理解和勇敢的心情

not because it's the right thing to do,

不僅僅因為這是正確的事情

but because it's the smart thing to do,

而且是明智的事情

because our businesses and our products

因為我們的生意、產品

and our science, our research,

技術、研究

all of that will be better with greater diversity.

所有這些都會變得更加多樣化

Now, my favorite example of color bravery

我最推崇的一個色勇榜樣

is a guy named John Skipper.

是John Skipper

He runs ESPN.

他是ESPN的副總裁

He's a North Carolina native,

他來自北卡羅來納

quintessential Southern gentleman, white.

典型的南方紳士，白人

He joined ESPN, which already had a culture

他加入ESPN的時候，那裡已經形成了

of inclusion and diversity, but he took it up a notch.

包容多樣性的文化，但他將其進一步發展

He demanded that every open position

他要求每個空缺崗位

have a diverse slate of candidates.

都必須有一個多樣化的候選人清單

Now he says the senior people

他說，高層的管理人員

in the beginning bristled,

在開始的時候很不滿

and they would come to him and say,

他們來找他，說：

"Do you want me to hire the minority,

「你想讓我聘請少數種族，

or do you want me to hire the best person for the job?"

還是想讓我聘請最適合這個崗位的人？ 」

And Skipper says his answers were always the same:

Skipper說他的回答每次都一樣

"Yes."

「是的。 」

And by saying yes to diversity,

對多樣化說「是 」

I honestly believe that ESPN

我真誠地相信ESPN

is the most valuable cable franchise in the world.

是世界上最有價值的有線電視服務商

I think that's a part of the secret sauce.

我想這是秘密之一

Now I can tell you, in my own industry,

我可以告訴你，在我自己的企業

at Ariel Investments, we actually view our diversity

Ariel Investments，我們其實把我們的多樣化特色

as a competitive advantage,

作為一個競爭優勢

and that advantage can extend way beyond business.

這種優勢甚至可以延伸到生意之外的領域

There's a guy named Scott Page at the University of Michigan.

密西根大學的Scott Page

He is the first person to develop

他是第一個開發出多樣化

a mathematical calculation for diversity.

數學模型的人

He says, if you're trying to solve a really hard problem,

他說，如果你試圖解決一個困難的問題

really hard,

非常困難的問題

that you should have a diverse group of people,

你需要一個多樣化的團隊

including those with diverse intellects.

包括那些有多樣化專業背景的人

The example that he gives is the smallpox epidemic.

他用天花傳染病來舉例

When it was ravaging Europe,

當天花在歐洲肆虐的時候

they brought together all these scientists,

他們把所有的科學家召集在一起

and they were stumped.

所有人都束手無策

And the beginnings of the cure to the disease

這個疾病的治療方案

came from the most unlikely source,

來自一個看似最不可能的地方

a dairy farmer who noticed that the milkmaids

一個奶牛農場發現擠奶工

were not getting smallpox.

沒有感染天花

And the smallpox vaccination is bovine-based

天花疫苗就是來自牛的體內

because of that dairy farmer.

因為那奶牛農場的發現

Now I'm sure you're sitting here and you're saying,

我知道，你們會坐在那裡說

I don't run a cable company,

我沒有一家有線電視公司

I don't run an investment firm,

也沒有投資公司

I am not a dairy farmer.

更不是農場主

What can I do?

我能做什麼？

And I'm telling you, you can be color brave.

我告訴你，你可以更加色勇

If you're part of a hiring process

如果你負責招聘的進程

or an admissions process,

或者負責招生

you can be color brave.

你可以色勇

If you are trying to solve a really hard problem,

如果你在試圖解決一個非常困難的問題

you can speak up and be color brave.

你可以直言不諱，並且色勇

Now I know people will say,

我知道人們會說