Community Highlights: Meet Mynesha Spencer of All of Us Together Co.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mynesha Spencer.

Hi Mynesha, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up completely intellectually invested in the modern 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement. Historical figures and community activists were discussed during our family breakfasts and weekday dinners. My father was an educator with an affinity for African American or Black history. He would impersonate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in monologues in the middle of any family circumstance, but especially wherein instances race or culture became the subject- and it often did, since my mother named me and my siblings: Mynesha, Marquisha and Marquis.

Considering my rearing, I was the first in my family to attend and graduate with honors from a Historically Black College/ University: The Prestigious “Ts, Ts, Ts- U know” as every student enrolled would harmoniously chant at the southern classic each year, Texas Southern University. I studied under some of the greats: Dr. Marva Johnson and Dr. Thomas F. Freeman who was the debate coach hired to train and instruct the actors in the award-winning film, “The Great Debaters” (2007) featuring Hollywood’s Denzel Washington.

During my undergraduate career, two things happened that further molded my outlook on social justice and activism. I lost two little brothers. Both were murdered in cold blood. One’s name was Etienne Burns. The other: Trayvon Martin. There was something about the social unrest that swept the nation but even more so something about the organized protest strategies that invaded my school’s campus which served as an invitation to me to assume my role as a civically engaged citizen.

I recall graduating from Texas Southern University and attending the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain. It was there where I learned that the history between that of Castilian Spainiards and Mexicans almost mirrored the historical racial relationship between that of African Americans and Europeans in America. I recall vividly my friends (one from El Salvador and the other from Mexico) feeling as though everything they did was an invitation for the natives in Salamanca to display their biases, disdain and micro-aggressive behaviors toward my friends. Undoubtedly, my experience in Spain, while a student, made me realize for the very first time that I had privilege. Not white privilege, not gender privilege, but privilege as an American woman. The natives, my host family, even my maestras – they all favored me without requiring me to earn such favor due to their conscious or unconscious perception of Americans. This was not the experience of that of my two friends. For the first time in my life, I realized how White people in America may feel whenever social unrest ravages across the nation after a racial police encounter ends in brutality or bloodbath. I truly understood that so long as something is not happening to an individual, they may be completely oblivious to its occurrence. My time overseas solidified my desire to go to law school to dismantle the prejudice, bias and discrimination that happens to people who did not bear the same privilege I walked so gracefully in during my time abroad.

I went to law school believing that civil attorneys change the world. I studied Charles Hamilton Houston, Fred Gray and Ben Crump even. Only to discover that law on the books does not always equal law in practice. I worked in the Third Judicial District Court of Kansas state and regretted it immediately. So I went and worked for a private firm in Houston, TX that specialized in criminal, civil and family law. Still, I left work each day drained, depressed, defeated. I knew that what I was navigating was not what I had envisioned for myself.

So, I left the field of law and worked as the equivalent to what most diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility practitioners do today. Only I worked at a national museum: the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, KS, a historical landmark commemorative of the Brown et.al. v Board of Education et.al. I worked there for five years, leading various initiatives to include audience-centered facilitated dialogues. But after navigating so much red tape, I decided to establish my own human relations firm with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility competencies and strategies… and well, here we are now five years later.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not. In fact, there has been too many problems to name. Perhaps the most prevalent issue (and this is not unique to me as a small business owner), is that establishing the validity of D.E.I.A. as a professional industry has been a challenge felt among practitioners and employers. I believe this challenge has been presented by way of several issues. Namely the lack of education or miseducation of both D.E.I.A. practitioners and working professionals. To the dismay of many practitioners, we are thought of and requested to act as social activists. This has led to lack of progression and in instances where progress has been made-serious industry regression.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about All of Us Together Co.?
All of Us Together Co. is a full-service human relations firm offering premier HR solutions to stakeholders with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility strategies and competencies. We help leaders, politicians, employers, students, faculty, companies, organizations and everything there in between, become more inclusive versions of themselves. We do this by providing tools, knowledge and resources to enable space for all people.

What sets us apart from others in the industry is that each team member employed at our firm has matriculated through rigorous HR training, graduated from one of very few of our nation’s prestigious Inclusion Institutes, or both. Whereas, a considerable amount of other “practitioners” have deemed themselves qualified to lead in this work and have no formal education, no practical philosophy and lack the competence, emotional management skills and professionalism required to drive premier results… And since four out of five of our client companies return for additional services after reporting improved work culture, it’s safe to say that we do.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Yes! Two things: (1): You can be both kind and competitive! (2) Your passion can become your profit. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise.

Pricing:

• We offer services like that of inclusive policy review for as low as $20.00/ page.
• We offer D.E.I.A. training for student/ youth groups at just $29.99 per participant.
• We consult at a rate of $250.00/ hour.
• We offer D.E.I.A. training for professionals across any industry at rates reasonable to the request.
• Our customized Supplier Diversity guides start at just $50.00.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.allofustogetherco.com
• Instagram: _allofustogether
• Facebook: All of Us Together Co.
• Linkedin: All of us Together Co.
• Twitter: _allofustogether

Image Credits
All of Us Together Co. Greater Omaha Chamber Completely Kids Bland & Associates