563: Cindi Bright: The Color of Courage, Crushing Racism in Corporate America

Cindi Bright is the President of The Bright Group, a management consulting firm focusing on the ecosystems of corporate America impacting and impeding progress for brown and Black people. She is the Producer and Host of HeartBeat radio, focusing on the “heart condition” of this country impeding diversity progress. With decades of experience in corporate America as a former Human Resources executive in organizations, diversity and leadership, she formerly led HR for three financial services businesses. A former candidate for public office in 2018, her platform has become a highly sought-after show to air the voices of people, and to influence public policy to improve the lives of Black and brown people.

Cindi is a successful plaintiff in a Discrimination lawsuit, where she faced personal discrimination for speaking out on issues of injustice. At the time of her jury verdict, she was the second largest plaintiff verdict for the State of Washington.

I have known Cindi for years, as she was a personal training client of mine some 15 years ago. I invited her on the show to talk about her new book, The Color of Courage, Crushing Racism in Corporate America. This book is a personal story of triumph over obstacles to inspire others to stand in their truths and to challenge corporate America to address the inequities at play for brown and Black people.

Listen in to hear Cindi share:

• Her public firing at the hands of a white woman
• How she won her court case, becoming the second largest plaintiff verdict in a discrimination case in WA state
• How she was portrayed as a Black woman while on trial
• How her company used her mental health and sex life against her in court
• Why Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility, is dangerous to Black women’s prosperity
• Examples of how white women center themselves
• What white women can do in the workplace to center Black women instead of centering themselves
• How she summons the courage to play large and take up space in a world that tries to keep Black women small
• Why nuance matters in conversations around race and how Cindi kindly helped me add some nuance to a statement I made in our conversation
• Why her book, The Color of Courage: Crushing Racism in Corporate America needs to be read by everyone

Links mentioned:

• Join my free workshop, 5 Ways to Shine Like A Mother
• Connect with Cindi
• Cindi on Twitter
• Cindi on Instagram
• Cindi on Facebook
• Cindi on Tik Tok

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