{"id":18599,"date":"2020-06-05T14:24:39","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T18:24:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insurancenewsnet.com\/?post_type=innarticle&p=5536560"},"modified":"2020-06-05T14:24:39","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T18:24:39","slug":"american-college-ceo-opens-up-about-black-life-in-a-white-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2020\/06\/05\/american-college-ceo-opens-up-about-black-life-in-a-white-world\/","title":{"rendered":"American College CEO Opens Up About Black Life In A White World"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
George Nichols III, president and CEO of American College of Financial Services<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\n

George Nichols knows that when he does his four- to five-mile walk every day, he is not the president of The American College of Financial Services.<\/p>\n

He is not the former top-level executive of New York Life.<\/p>\n

He is not the former Kentucky insurance commissioner.<\/p>\n

He is a threatening black man.<\/p>\n

People who know Nichols would likely see him as the affable 60-year-old man and capable leader he is. But Nichols knows that is not what many other white people see.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt my age and at my level of success, I still have to calculate how I make sure I’m not perceived as a threat when I walk into an environment where I may be the only black,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n

His is the only black family in his upscale neighborhood, so he knows the drill when he goes for his walk. He strides briskly, doesn\u2019t look at anybody\u2019s house too intently, greets everybody and wears bright colors so the neighbors can recognize him.<\/p>\n

But that does not mean every police officer driving through the neighborhood recognizes him. Like a month or so ago during his walk when Nichols was wearing the hood up on his jacket in the rain. He saw a police car approaching, so Nichols put his hood down for the police officer to see it was him, while Nichols hoped it was the one who would have recognized him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that’s what I needed to do to be safe, so he could see it was me,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cBut then I also thought if he\u2019s one who sees me all the time, he probably looked at me and said, \u2018Why the hell does he have his hood off? It’s raining.\u2019 But in my world, I have to think about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In His Skin<\/h2>\n

Nichols has to be aware of his skin color whenever he is in a predominantly white environment, which is most of the time. If he has a complaint or an issue in a store or restaurant, he makes very sure his tone is as even and gentle as possible. When he gets on an elevator with a lone, unknown white woman, he makes certain to appear as unthreatening as he can be.<\/p>\n

Nichols clearly does not relish speaking about these experiences, most likely preferring to talk about American College initiatives and how to advance the insurance and finance industries. But the death of George Floyd, the man killed by a policeman who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, pushed Nichols to speak out.<\/p>\n

In a letter<\/a> Nichols wrote and posted on American College\u2019s website, he lamented witnessing yet another injustice in a long line of them. And while he condemned the destruction wrought by the riots, he said it can\u2019t be surprising that rage is boiling over. He hoped that this time there might be a better outcome.<\/p>\n

\n

“I really hope our nation is ready to listen.”<\/span>
<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI really hope our nation is ready to listen,\u201d Nichols wrote. \u201cBut, more importantly, I hope that those marginalized and mistreated for so long are heard and understood. Because this is bigger than a commitment to hiring a few more people of color or setting up a diversity council or cloaking the systemic struggle black people face with a program that means well, but stops a few steps short of feeling uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is why he is venturing out of his own comfort zone to speak about the experience of what it is like to be black in America, no matter how high the ladder that person has climbed. And Nichols had a lot of climbing to do, rising from a childhood spent in a Kentucky housing project.<\/p>\n

It was in fact a white policeman who opened the first door of opportunity for him.<\/p>\n

Nichols was a sixth-grader in early 1970s Bowling Green, Ky., where segregation was still a fact of life. The relationship between African Americans and the police was as fraught as it was everywhere else. But not every white cop was the same. This one opened the gym after school to get the kids off the street and onto the basketball court.<\/p>\n

This policeman also saw that not every black kid was the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe noticed is how good I am,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cAnd he tells the varsity coach. And then the coach comes down and sees me. And then he goes back to his white neighborhood and tells his friends that there’s this sixth-grader that is coming up who\u2019s really a great basketball player. So my name is out there. So when I arrive in junior high and my hometown that now has a mixture of white kids and black kids, and white kids have heard about me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That first open door led to others that allowed Nichols to show his stuff athletically and intellectually as he attended college, rose through professional ranks in health care and health insurance, and eventually became the state\u2019s first black insurance commissioner. From there, he became a key executive at New York Life for decades before becoming the president of The American College of Financial Services.<\/p>\n

Throughout his career, he has watched racial incidents erupt, call attention to injustice and then fade.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring Trayvon Martin, during Ferguson, during Michael Brown, there was a discussion around having a conversation,\u201d Nichols said. \u201cAnd there were companies that had that conversation. And I applaud those companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when crisis after crisis passed without real change, Nichols had to wonder what\u2019s the point of the conversation?<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAnd even if you’re listening, did you really hear me?\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhen we have it, are you listening?\u201d Nichols asked. \u201cAnd even if you’re listening, did you really hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

And what is it that he wants people to hear? One is to recognize the inherent disadvantage that black Americans suffer. Nichols is aware that white people often look to him as an example proving the rule that anyone can succeed in the U.S. if they apply themselves. But he wants people to understand that he is the exception, not the rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone is sitting there saying, \u2018Oh my God, George! You’ve had an unbelievable career. You’ve made it. You have a nice home. You have a nice car. I don’t understand how all these issues are there,\u2019\u201d Nichols said. \u201cWell, wait a minute. You can’t disregard going all the way back to slavery and not understand the implications of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The implications are the hundreds of years of inherited inequality, with generation after generation passing through slavery, Jim Crow and institutional disadvantage. If it were only a matter of hard work, there would be far less inequality today.<\/p>\n

\n

“Is it that blacks don’t want to be CEO? Is that the reason? It’s hard for me to believe that.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIf that were true, then would you expect to see more diversity when you look at an organization or any other thing that we do in this country?\u201d Nichols asked. \u201cI read an article today that said there are four black CEOs of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. \u2013 four. We make up 12% of the population. And on the Fortune 500, we have four. I know a lot of blacks who work their butts off, and they’re smart. And you tell me we only have four. Is it that blacks don’t want to be CEO? Is that the reason? It’s hard for me to believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking Steps<\/h2>\n

Nichols, as the American College president, and the leaders of other key life insurance organizations signed a letter pledging<\/a> to work together against racial inequality. It was signed by the leaders of the American Council of Life Insurers, the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global.<\/p>\n

The letter is one of many public statements issued on the issue. But what can organizations, companies and individuals in life insurance do?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that where a lot of organizations commit dollars, which I’m so grateful for, in investing in the black community, I’d really like to see not just the gift, but the commitment,\u201d Nichols said, adding that includes guidance<\/p>\n

Nichols had some steps:<\/p>\n