“When you walk into that room it can seem very scary — the money, the air, is different,” he said. “I didn’t have any white friends, I wasn’t around other cultures. Most people would assume that’s how I am, but I didn’t get any of it. It taught me that everyone is an individual. People are very loving and welcoming.” No one ever underestimated me.”
Mr. Stone possessed a combination of confidence, self-awareness and empathy that allowed him to navigate an unfamiliar world without feeling overly frustrated.
“Racism is my perception, there are different levels,” he said. “What many people classify as classic racism is actually racial ignorance. If I’m in Hong Kong and don’t give you my business card with two hands and bow my head, it can be considered disrespectful.” . You have to learn that. I’m going to find a way, if you look to me, to level the playing field.
He dropped out in 2016 seeking flexibility to care for his mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. In addition to consulting, he “started”alcohol and hip hoppodcast in 2018.
“The phone really started ringing after George Floyd was killed,” he recalled. “By making all the cultures feel comfortable together, people understood that I was already doing that.”
For Ms. DuBose-Woodson, the most important thing now is direct action.
“Most of all, I want to shout it from the mountain tops, we’re spending way too much time strategizing,” she said. “We don’t need to plan for 10 years, we just need to start.”
The work Mr. Stone is doing is a great example, he said, of committed companies as well as Burgundy producers like Dujac, he said. Domaine des Comtes Lafon, domaine roulot, Maison Joseph Drouhin And domaine de montilWhich he said was adding to master’s-level programs at historically black colleges and universities.
