Meet Eliot
*Eliot is a 34-year old businessman and philanthropist from Detroit, Michigan who now resides in Atlanta, Georgia. He now frequents New York City and San Francisco on a regular to stay connected with clients for his business strategy consulting firm. He has a wife and daughter living in Atlanta.
We had a lovely opportunity to converse with Eliot over a dinner hosted in Atlanta with Jenn Graham, the founder of Civic Dinners, and her husband, Thomas.
The following are sound bites that may pique your curiosity and challenge your perspective on some touchy topics. We recommend consuming over this food for thought over a good glass of wine.
* Names have been changed to protect the family's privacy.
improving education systems...
“It’s too bad Teach for America Fellows are not doing better in New Orleans. There were black teachers who have been teaching in [school district] for 15 years. Then they think it’s a good idea to bring in some 22-year-old straight out of school who can teach better than these teachers. It wasn’t as impactful as they wanted it to be.”
On racial discrimination...
“Of course! It’s still here. When you look at how people are treated, what they are saying is “Black lives don’t matter.” Obama’s black friend got arrested for entering his own home, and this was a highly affluent neighborhood.”
On Unions...
“In Connecticut, there was a downsizing of staff in a school district. All of the people on the board of the union were white, so all the white employees were protected. Then all the blacks employees who were actually local were fired.
So what’s the point of the union if all the black people get fired?
This is another reason you can’t have mixed race communities because the white people will protect themselves and leave the black community out of jobs, on the poverty line.”
On Segregation...
“Segregation works. According to Pew data, the wealthiest black communities came from pre-anti-segregation laws.”
On how we can help minority communities thrive...
“White people feel they have to help black people out. But then we get offended, because why do you think you need to “help” us? We’re doing just fine. We’re smart, we’re capable, we can figure this out.
We need more black role models and leaders and remove the mindset that black people can’t amount to anything. We need to get them to the point of saying, “I can lead too.””
