During a presentation about diversity in the workplace during a Black History Month event, Rauner was joined by Tyronne Stoudemire, Hyatt Hotel's vice president of global diversity, on the stage at Chicago's James R. Thompson Center, the Chicago Tribune reported.
With Rauner holding a glass, Stoudemire poured milk into the cup to illustrate white men holding powerful positions in the workplace. He then squirted some Hershey's chocolate syrup into the glass, which readily sank to the bottom.
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) February 21, 2018
"When you look at most organizations, diversity sits at the bottom of the organization," Stoudemire said. "You don't get inclusion until you actually stir it up," he added, motioning Rauner to start stirring.
— Adrian (@blagojevism) February 21, 2018
"Diversity is the mix, and inclusion is making the mix work," Stoudemire said.
"It's really, really good," Rauner said about taking a sip of chocolate milk. "Diversity!" he exclaimed, as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Stoudemire told the Chicago Tribune that he has used the chocolate milk demonstration over the last 15 years to illustrate diversity at Fortune 500 companies across the US.
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) February 22, 2018
Chicago has had poor race relations for decades. A New York Times and Kaiser Foundation poll released in May 2016 showed that while 32 percent of whites felt very safe in their neighborhood, only 16 percent of blacks and 17 percent of Hispanics felt the same way. The results from the same poll also revealed that 63 percent of blacks and 59 percent of Hispanics feel like race relations in Chicago are "generally bad."
