NEW ORLEANS — Restaurant owner Robert LeBlanc always had a diverse group of friends so he never really thought of race as an issue in his life.
" I was always open-minded. I don't ever think I considered myself to be racist. My parents did a good job of not seeing color and that was the goal," explains LeBlanc.
After the death of George Floyd, LeBlanc looked around at the world and his world, the hospitality industry, and realized that "not seeing color" wasn't enough.
"The dangerous thing about not seeing color- you're not really being honest about how much more challenging it is," says LeBlanc.
LeBlanc is the founder and creative director of LeBlanc + Smith.
His restaurant group owns several local restaurants including Cavan, Sylvain, and the Chloe, which is also a hotel.
"I was a problematic white hospitality owner," says LeBlanc.
But the problem is much larger than LeBlanc, it's a problem for the entire hospitality industry.
"The industry is rife with issues of exploitation of labor, of discrimination, of hiring policies and practices that keep black indigenous people of color in positions without any clear pathways for growth in their careers," explains Lauren Darnell.
Darnell is the executive director of the Made in New Orleans foundation (MINO).
It is a non-profit that works with hospitality leaders like LeBlanc to address inequities in the hospitality industry.
New Orleans is a majority-black city, but that is not reflected in the hospitality industry.
White people are more likely to work in front-of-house positions and have senior management positions.
"You can just go in kitchen in New Orleans or Google chefs in New Orleans, you're not going to see a ton of black chefs," points out LeBlanc.
MINO wants to change that. The foundation's latest effort to make the industry more equitable is a partnership with the non-profit consulting firm, Beloved Community.
Together they are launching the Equity at Work: Hospitality program.
They want to bring 20 local restaurant and hotel owners together on a two-year journey.
The goal is more equitable workplaces.
LeBlanc is already on board with the program and encourages other industry leaders to join him. He has high hopes for the kind of impact this diversity and inclusion work can have.
"I would like to see New Orleans become the leader in defining how hospitality at large in the United States.... in America can start to integrate and become a stronger industry," says LeBlanc.
Darnell admits the work won't be easy, but it is long overdue.
"It is going to make people uncomfortable, but it's time. This invisibility of the black chef
In the kitchen and no one knows who did the dish- it's done. We're over."
Restaurants and other hospitality industry leaders interested in creating more equitable workplaces can learn more about the Equity at Work: Hospitality program by clicking here.
There are two more info sessions being held virtually; the first will be on Monday, April 5 with the second on Monday, April 19.
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