How We Select Conference Speakers

I can only assume that he/she is referring to our speaker line-up because we have black attendees and black exhibitors that will be there but I guess that doesn't count.

It's a fair enough question I suppose but I don't agree with the underlying premise that frames it. It's phrased in an affirmative action era mentality and we simply don't subscribe to that approach to getting ahead. I don't want to be selected for anything simply because I'm a 64 year old, overweight, white guy. I want to be picked because I'm good at something and I think most people feel the same way.

Yes, you have to have fair-minded people of character doing the picking but lowering the bar for entrance is akin to building a space shuttle with o-rings purchased from the cheapest bidder. We know how that works out don't we! The solution to a broken selection process is to change the way some selection people still think, not lowering the bar on character and qualification.

So I'm going to take a high-road here and read that question as if he/she had given us the benefit of the doubt first (which he/she did not) and asked us, "How do you select your speakers?" And here's the straight-skinny on that one.

How We Select Conference Speakers

1. We do not do speaker "cattle-calls". We view that, for planning purposes, as the tail wagging the dog. This is a tactic utilized by most associations for numerous appeasement and financially based reasons, and we have decided NOT to employ those tactics.

2. We design our conferences based on a) the theme we have selected and b) the topics we wish to present to support that theme. Then we go find the best speakers that are available for that purpose (see #8 below) regardless of skin-color, gender, or any other demographic attribute. We truly DO NOT CARE what color or gender they are unless an ethnic or gender-specific pov is preferable or required, to make the point.

3. Selecting speakers (or sponsors, or exhibitors) based on their skin-color alone would greatly insult and upset our members "of color" who prefer to be considered for things based on the quality of their character, moral values, competence and common sense. (Dr King would be proud to hear that.)

4. Selecting speakers (or sponsors, or exhibitors) based on their biological gender would greatly insult and upset our female members of any color who prefer to be considered for things based on the quality of their character, moral values, competence and common sense.

5. We pursue speakers who can address a topic as a sme (subject matter expert) and support it with empirically-based, peer-reviewed materials, etc. We do not select our speakers based on any trending social agenda or biases.

6. We must be able to afford them. I would love to have a Dr. Ben Carson speak at one of our events but right now, we can't afford him.

7. The speaker must be available on the dates when our conference is scheduled. Sometimes they're not.

8. We do not possess, nor does there exist, a database of every available speaker in N. America. We simply don't, and can't, know them all.

This is the point where the reader who posed the original question might say, "okay, there are blacks that fit your description so where are they?" To that I would reply, see #8 above. We do the best we can to find the best available regardless of skin color/gender but (see #1-4,7 above). There are also cultural reasons why some speakers of any color are concerned about taking their views public because their views may differ from the expected cultural norm and that can be dangerous. But that's an entirely separate discussion.

Summary

We pick the best speaker available for the job that we can find and afford based on the specs outlined above, and their skin color and gender comes with them! We consider skin color and gender only if that adds something of value and cultural import to the point of the presentation and the audience. Our selection process also does not include quotas or trending social agendas for the sake of compliance.

Hope that helps.