Voicing the voiceless

I’ve heard it said that to have a voice is to have power, because without it is to be unheard, discounted.  Imagine yearning, no, needing to be heard from the void, only to be ignored, when there are so many who can collectively speak up on your behalf. Giving a voice to the voiceless means helping people – what us credit unions do best – but we can be doing more.

In seeking a better sense of what the industry can do now, I reached out to Dr. Derreck Kayongo for insight. I first saw Derreck speak at CUNA’s General Affairs Conference in 2017 and I was blown away. His perception of good and its application across innumerable boundaries provided exactly the insight I was looking for.

Dr. Kayongo, you are a proponent of “giving a voice to the voiceless.” In looking at the state of affairs in the world today – namely the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and diversity, equity, and inclusion – when a voice is given to the voiceless, what does that look like?

Whenever a crisis in humanity happens, it’s important to understand the root causes to solve it effectively. Churchill is famously known for having said, “Never waste a good crisis,” because he understood that any constructive leader knows that great crises also provide for great opportunity to uphold good against evil through innovation and social entrepreneurship. Indeed, that is probably the one-time heroes and sheroes are born to give voice to the voiceless. Hence when a voice is given to the voiceless it sounds like Nelson Mandela, who while in moral silence for over twenty years in jail, spoke louder than anyone outside and spoke not just for the African but also for the whites that sought freedom from the crashing dogmatic political system of apartheid. This voice is the same one we hear from Dr. Martin Luther King who said, “Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.” That same voice is again found in Mother Teresa who posited, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Today we seek a prophet who can articulate the injustice we all face in the death of George Floyd in a way that can bring us together as Americans – not as black and white but as Americans. This moment in time is your moment as an American and as a human being to show your morality. In this moment and time, we seek a leader in every institution who can reasonably talk to us about the COVID-19 pandemic and for we all fret. This moment in time is truly for a voice of the voiceless to be heard. We need a prophet of hope.

To that end, this cardinal moment and crisis require a strong empowered voice of a hero to speak up against the corrupting policies that turn good public institutions into instruments of oppression, especially among minorities. This hero will help provide a pathway to a solution that will end the pain and suffering among the masses. This is the prophet of hope we all long for today.

I agree. As we’ve seen throughout human history, a prophet of hope can lift humanity emotionally; heal our collective psychological ills; and encourage healthy transformation.

Can you then share some ideas on how a financial cooperative can better go about identifying and providing a voice in response to such ills?

Credit unions should first and foremost use their presidents/CEOs as the first credible voice when speaking out against any sort of injustice. The CEO is the face of the organization. They should act fast so as not to give the impression of delayed bias. They should seek out local, credible leaders, especially in the minority community, to join their credit union when speaking out and to inform the process. This helps with using the politically correct language not to further aggravate the tender moments we find ourselves in. Words are not enough. The industry should financially support the empowerment of the community when speaking out on the ills in society. This means using social media, websites, and so on to lay out a coherent argument in support of the local community when things go wrong.

Finally, it would be cardinal for the leadership within credit unions to congregate a listening tour among its minority members to better understand what their needs are in the community. For example, simple things like a scholarship that helps minority kids to get into banking is one way. Having a diversity, equity, and inclusion department is another, and taking that department as seriously as other departments is even more critical. Such a department will help the credit union fend off illicit behavior and even save your organizations from other avoidable issues.

Credit unions absolutely must embrace this direction and, alongside our members and our communities, work to change the status quo and evoke systemic change to help individuals overcome socio-economic barriers so that we may better serve humanity.

To take it one step further, what are a few things credit unions can do to better serve the underserved of today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, with all of the aforementioned taken to heart?

Credit unions have a long history of standing in support of the financially oppressed and unrecognized. Partnering with the community has been and is their mission and raison d’être. As such the following are a few things that credit unions can do to further that partnership:

• Have more board members from communities of color, which will help the credit union better understand the needs of those marginalized communities.
• Have on their board youth members who can become the conduit for the credit union to better communicate and educate the upcoming generation about money and how to gain access – this will keep your credit union vogue.
• Help start local business incubators that guide great ideas in the community towards success. These incubators should have weekend programs or after school programs that educate youth and young adults about business and financial instruments.
• Create a community fund for crisis response when hard times come. I can see the credit union asking each of its current members to donate a dollar to the community crisis fund just like supermarkets ask for donations for the cancer society and so forth. Once that fund is created, have a local governing board to help disperse those funds according to the needs of the community. The Kiswahili term of a community that pulls together and works to solve problems together is “Harambee.”

Excellent action items. Circling back to empowering voice for those who so often go unheard, another topic I’d like your thoughts on is how and when do credit unions respond to hatred or violence or inequality or all of the above while best-representing membership? Moreover, when does the business take a backseat to doing the right thing as humans? 

Credit unions like all other businesses are based and rooted in the community. As such they represent the community and should reflect the values of the good side away from wrong. When a business takes the side of the right, it is always vindicated through patronage. However, when business is silent, this is also a form of capitulation to wrongdoing and is then viewed as an enabler. Credit unions have a moral responsibility to speak up against violence, especially in this unequal world.

Like the Church, credit unions are made up of people, so we are the credit union and the words ‘credit’ and ‘union’ seem to me as the perfect words we need in today’s atmosphere. We need to be creditable and united in an American union that our forefathers dreamt of. Not unworthy of credibility and not in a union that is anti-American.

A lot to ponder. A lot to do. I am inspired by the strength and determination across the globe, despite a litter of obstacles haphazardly strewn throughout the path of good. I remember that all people come from the same human energy and how that energy can showcase our ability to grow and change beyond what was previously decided as an impasse of capability. I think humans know and learn that even this limit extends much, much farther, as exhibited by those who continue to speak out, provide assistance, and generate revolution for the better.

And, the voiceless do so often find voice through deepened support, empathy, aggressive listening, stories, and action, and do so with a new sense of courage and opportunity. Not to infer that the voiceless are a socially constructed class, more so that it is our duty as cooperatives to move from piecemeal symbolic gesture to tangible systemic change.

Where does your voice live?

A genuine “thank you” from the bottom of my heart to Dr. Derreck Kayongo for sharing his thoughts and wisdom in development of this article.

Derreck Kayongo is a wonderful speaker on these issues and especially on the current issue of inclusion, equity, and diversity. He does Zoom conference speeches as well as in-person team building speeches. To contact him please send him an email at derreckkayongo@gmail.com for consultation.