David, Son of Jackie Robinson, at the University of Minnesota

On Thursday, September 22, I went to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, to hear David Robinson, a coffee farmer in Tanzania. He is the last of the children of Jackie Robinson, the legendary African-American baseball player and indomitable civil rights activist of the forties and fifties, who passed away in 1972.

Visiting Ethiopia as a teenager, David fell in love with Africa and, in the early eighties, decided to settle in a village called Bara, tucked away in the Mbozi district of southwestern Tanzania. He introduced himself to the curious village elders, telling them that he was an African from somewhere in Africa--even though he didn't know where--and that he had been taken from the continent and was lost for several centuries in slavery in far away America. Now he had decided to come back home, and he wanted land to establish a farm.

The villagers showed him a large area and he set about establishing a coffee farm, creating, together with fellow villagers, a cooperative society called Sweet Unity Farms. David talked about the activities of the cooperative farm, the challenges, and the lessons gained along the way.

He talked about not only the work on the farms, but also the business side of things--which is rife with challenges. This includes marketing and selling Sweet Unity Farms coffee around the world. Though located in a rural place, Sweet Unity Farms seeks ways to establish itself in a global market dominated by big multinational corporations.

The photo on the left features David, Limi Simbakalia, a Tanzanian student at St. Olaf College,  where I teach, and me.

There is much information online about David Robinson and Sweet Unity Farms, such as this wonderful article. I have been reading about David Robinson for some years and, in the process, a little about Jackie Robinson. After meeting David, however, I have been learning more about his father and gaining a good sense of the stature and significance of this legendary sportsman and civil rights activist.

RBC Wealth Management Confronts Cultural Diversity

I visited the RBC Wealth Management premises in Minneapolis earlier today, to share ideas about cross-cultural issues at the workplace and in the world as such. With operations and offices around the world, RBC Wealth Management knows the challenges and opportunities of cultural diversity in the global village.

I have visited RBC Wealth Management several times in the past few years, to share my experience as a cultural consultant. I greatly appreciate the warmth and hospitality I have always experienced there.

My interactions with leaders and employees have broadened and sharpened my awareness of what a company with a multinational workforce deals with, in terms of workforce relationships and management. I seek to enhance my understanding of these matters all the time, so that I can be a better and better as a consultant. My goal is that simple and clear.

Many employees of RBC Wealth Managenemt have read my Africans and Americans book, and I am always humbled to encounter them as I move around the Company premises. At their reguest, my talk today was based on this book.

We ranged widely, covering not only issues of relationships at work, but also hiring and promotion, and beyond the specific goals of enhancing company productivity, we talked about the broader issue of promoting mutual understanding for a better future for all in the global village.

I wish to thank Wanda Brackins, Director of Diversity at RBC Wealth Management, for arranging all my visits and for sharing with me her wide and deep knowledge of cultural diversity in the modern corporate setting.