thank you very much hello so I’m a
diversity chain er and I have to be
honest with you I hate diversity
diversity to me is kind of like a fruit
platter all of the parts are present all
are represented but they’re kept
separate they’re not involved in any
meaningful way it looks cute it looks
good but it’s superficial people want to
make sure they have one Asian a few
black folks throw in a couple of women
and sprinkle some other and it’s all
good because that’s diversity the answer
to racism we don’t have to do the real
work
we don’t have to make sure that those
that we bring into the boardroom
actually have a seat and a voice we just
got to make sure they’re there when
we’re thinking about diversity I knew
when I was growing up that I didn’t live
in the most diverse kind of way I grew
up in a small town well not so small but
small Greensboro North Carolina it was
the birthplace of the sit-in movement my
hometown and my side of town was
majority black I went to a majority
black high school Dudley high and there
I loved it because I was surrounded by
black love and I was able to route
myself in my heritage but I kind of got
the feeling from watching TV and movies
that that wasn’t real life that not
everybody I was gonna come in contact
with was gonna look like me so I decided
I needed to versafine my world and I
sought out a lily-white
school when it was time to go to college
I found it – I found the Quakers
y’all it doesn’t get any whiter than a
Quaker friends let me tell you it was a
shock it was a shock to my culture it
was a shock to my soul but I enjoyed
myself after a girlfriend made some
changes during my first year there I
noticed that I was one of only a few
people of color we could count ourselves
on one hand in my class and I can
remember when we would be talking about
issues with race about race and racism I
can remember the things that the white
folks would say that were harmful and
dismissive they would say things like I
don’t see your color really they would
say well racism is it real anymore they
would say well if black folks did X Y &
Z and I stopped listening so I don’t
know what they said after that they
would say I don’t have privilege why are
you mad at me and what was really funny
y’all is that they would give me all
those answers after they would stop the
conversation they were having cuz I was
not a part of it anyway and look at me
and say Sonny
what do you think you know that loaded
you that you were that wasn’t just about
Sonny that you that was kinda they
wanted me to wrap up the entire black
experience put it in a tight little box
and serve it up on a platter they wanted
me to make sure that I conveyed
everything they needed to know and in
those moments I would try at first I
would try I would okay Sonny don’t panic
you can do this you got to make sure
you’re soft so that they can hear you
but you speak with honesty so it’s based
in truth and I would give my truth and
get all that crap back I stopped talking
when they would look at me and say Sonny
what do you think I don’t know what do
you think I mean I guess we’re all
colorblind I stopped having the
conversation and for awhile I considered
transferring to a different school but
when I came back in my second year my
Quaker institution was ready to make
some real change
they weren’t going
to count people anymore and my Quaker
institution after some hard work from
some people of color on our campus
decided that they were going to proclaim
from the President to the bottom of the
staff that we are a racist institution
that wants to work towards being
anti-racist y’all I fell in love I
started to invest so much time energy
and effort but guess why because they
were investing time energy and effort
and being inclusive we were having real
conversations and everywhere from the
cafeteria to the classroom and in those
conversations we were talking about
issues around race class and gender I
can remember that my institution was
paying eight thousand dollars each
semester to offer anti racism two and a
half day courses to any and everybody
who wanted to come we establish a
multicultural education department and
that department had money and they would
host things for us multicultural folks
it was awesome we were having
conversations and cafeterias and all
over and I was loving it and not to be
quite honest with you I fell in love and
started doing hard work on their behalf
I became mrs. Gilford I was in
everything and everywhere
I mean you if you wanted to know what
was going on at Guilford you just asked
me in four years I
I majored in three different things
political science philosophy and
african-american studies and I can
remember pay attention to what we did we
were doing real work we were requiring
that every discipline have some course
that focused on race class and gender I
was a foster major who do you think I
studied a bunch of old white men so I
went to my professor dr. McLeod and I
said can we do something and she said
what about a course on the philosophy of
black thought and between the two of us
it was first an independent study we
developed a course where I was able to
study w eb de Bois and Booker T
Washington dr. King Malcolm X sedona
truth dr. Maya Angelou y’all this is
inclusion at work
I felt like I was a part of something I
had a seat
and a voice and when I left Guildford I
was better off because of Guildford I
knew what an inclusive society looked
like and because of Dudley I have I was
rooted in my heritage so I move here to
Akron hey y’all
brought my southern charm and everything
and here in Akron I was in law school
and I was ready for when diversity would
make a mockery of me because here in
some areas in law school diversity ruled
over inclusion like for instance when we
come back to start our second year I
remember we lost a lot of students law
school was hard we lost a lot of
students but the loss of our black
fellow classmates was all the more
visible because it wasn’t so many but so
many of us to begin with the story’s
hard for me so I remember when I was
walking around the corner and I was
getting ready to go to class there was a
group of white students that were
standing off to the side they didn’t see
me at first and I remember overhearing
the conversation and they called us all
me included affirmative action babies
who couldnt said we couldn’t handle the
work didn’t belong to be there didn’t
belong our scholarship money then we
were taking opportunities from real
lawyers I did hold my head up and turn
that corner went about my business
because I knew if I were to express my
hurt then it would just justify the
angry black woman stereotype because I
was a little bad too so I can help walk
in and they did stop their conversation
to their credit snickered under their
breath but they stopped their
conversation I want y’all to hear me
when I say these moments are common for
me moments when people question my
intellect moments when people question
my space in the room moments when people
write me off like a politically correct
answer to equal opportunity diversity
well I got a surprise for you
y’all I am black I’m a proud black woman
and B and I am no lesser because of that
I just want to challenge you to think
when are we as a society when are we
gonna move past this when are we gonna
see the humanity and people of color
when are we gonna just take the pain
that they give us and act instead of
denying defend diversity will always
give us space in the rooms but it leaves
no room for our thoughts in our ways of
life inclusion will change our rooms
inclusion will make sure we all have a
seat and a voice and check this out it’s
got a challenge for you
once you hear the voice you have to act
to make some changes that’s inclusion
that’s what matters for me I just want
to make sure that I’m leaving a better
world for my daughter an inclusive world
will do that for her so I think of
diversity like a fruit bowl and let’s be
honest Akron we’re still that fruit bowl
if you think about communities on the
east side versus communities on the west
side they look and feel completely
different we’ve got a lot of work to do
but my goal is for us to be a fruit
salad my goal is for us to be able to be
connected my goal is for us to learn and
lean and support each other’s flavors
but make sure we allow for people to
have their own Worth and integrity
because that will be an inclusive
society and America and Accra will be so
much better when we can say we are inclusive much love
diversity chain er and I have to be
honest with you I hate diversity
diversity to me is kind of like a fruit
platter all of the parts are present all
are represented but they’re kept
separate they’re not involved in any
meaningful way it looks cute it looks
good but it’s superficial people want to
make sure they have one Asian a few
black folks throw in a couple of women
and sprinkle some other and it’s all
good because that’s diversity the answer
to racism we don’t have to do the real
work
we don’t have to make sure that those
that we bring into the boardroom
actually have a seat and a voice we just
got to make sure they’re there when
we’re thinking about diversity I knew
when I was growing up that I didn’t live
in the most diverse kind of way I grew
up in a small town well not so small but
small Greensboro North Carolina it was
the birthplace of the sit-in movement my
hometown and my side of town was
majority black I went to a majority
black high school Dudley high and there
I loved it because I was surrounded by
black love and I was able to route
myself in my heritage but I kind of got
the feeling from watching TV and movies
that that wasn’t real life that not
everybody I was gonna come in contact
with was gonna look like me so I decided
I needed to versafine my world and I
sought out a lily-white
school when it was time to go to college
I found it – I found the Quakers
y’all it doesn’t get any whiter than a
Quaker friends let me tell you it was a
shock it was a shock to my culture it
was a shock to my soul but I enjoyed
myself after a girlfriend made some
changes during my first year there I
noticed that I was one of only a few
people of color we could count ourselves
on one hand in my class and I can
remember when we would be talking about
issues with race about race and racism I
can remember the things that the white
folks would say that were harmful and
dismissive they would say things like I
don’t see your color really they would
say well racism is it real anymore they
would say well if black folks did X Y &
Z and I stopped listening so I don’t
know what they said after that they
would say I don’t have privilege why are
you mad at me and what was really funny
y’all is that they would give me all
those answers after they would stop the
conversation they were having cuz I was
not a part of it anyway and look at me
and say Sonny
what do you think you know that loaded
you that you were that wasn’t just about
Sonny that you that was kinda they
wanted me to wrap up the entire black
experience put it in a tight little box
and serve it up on a platter they wanted
me to make sure that I conveyed
everything they needed to know and in
those moments I would try at first I
would try I would okay Sonny don’t panic
you can do this you got to make sure
you’re soft so that they can hear you
but you speak with honesty so it’s based
in truth and I would give my truth and
get all that crap back I stopped talking
when they would look at me and say Sonny
what do you think I don’t know what do
you think I mean I guess we’re all
colorblind I stopped having the
conversation and for awhile I considered
transferring to a different school but
when I came back in my second year my
Quaker institution was ready to make
some real change
they weren’t going
to count people anymore and my Quaker
institution after some hard work from
some people of color on our campus
decided that they were going to proclaim
from the President to the bottom of the
staff that we are a racist institution
that wants to work towards being
anti-racist y’all I fell in love I
started to invest so much time energy
and effort but guess why because they
were investing time energy and effort
and being inclusive we were having real
conversations and everywhere from the
cafeteria to the classroom and in those
conversations we were talking about
issues around race class and gender I
can remember that my institution was
paying eight thousand dollars each
semester to offer anti racism two and a
half day courses to any and everybody
who wanted to come we establish a
multicultural education department and
that department had money and they would
host things for us multicultural folks
it was awesome we were having
conversations and cafeterias and all
over and I was loving it and not to be
quite honest with you I fell in love and
started doing hard work on their behalf
I became mrs. Gilford I was in
everything and everywhere
I mean you if you wanted to know what
was going on at Guilford you just asked
me in four years I
I majored in three different things
political science philosophy and
african-american studies and I can
remember pay attention to what we did we
were doing real work we were requiring
that every discipline have some course
that focused on race class and gender I
was a foster major who do you think I
studied a bunch of old white men so I
went to my professor dr. McLeod and I
said can we do something and she said
what about a course on the philosophy of
black thought and between the two of us
it was first an independent study we
developed a course where I was able to
study w eb de Bois and Booker T
Washington dr. King Malcolm X sedona
truth dr. Maya Angelou y’all this is
inclusion at work
I felt like I was a part of something I
had a seat
and a voice and when I left Guildford I
was better off because of Guildford I
knew what an inclusive society looked
like and because of Dudley I have I was
rooted in my heritage so I move here to
Akron hey y’all
brought my southern charm and everything
and here in Akron I was in law school
and I was ready for when diversity would
make a mockery of me because here in
some areas in law school diversity ruled
over inclusion like for instance when we
come back to start our second year I
remember we lost a lot of students law
school was hard we lost a lot of
students but the loss of our black
fellow classmates was all the more
visible because it wasn’t so many but so
many of us to begin with the story’s
hard for me so I remember when I was
walking around the corner and I was
getting ready to go to class there was a
group of white students that were
standing off to the side they didn’t see
me at first and I remember overhearing
the conversation and they called us all
me included affirmative action babies
who couldnt said we couldn’t handle the
work didn’t belong to be there didn’t
belong our scholarship money then we
were taking opportunities from real
lawyers I did hold my head up and turn
that corner went about my business
because I knew if I were to express my
hurt then it would just justify the
angry black woman stereotype because I
was a little bad too so I can help walk
in and they did stop their conversation
to their credit snickered under their
breath but they stopped their
conversation I want y’all to hear me
when I say these moments are common for
me moments when people question my
intellect moments when people question
my space in the room moments when people
write me off like a politically correct
answer to equal opportunity diversity
well I got a surprise for you
y’all I am black I’m a proud black woman
and B and I am no lesser because of that
I just want to challenge you to think
when are we as a society when are we
gonna move past this when are we gonna
see the humanity and people of color
when are we gonna just take the pain
that they give us and act instead of
denying defend diversity will always
give us space in the rooms but it leaves
no room for our thoughts in our ways of
life inclusion will change our rooms
inclusion will make sure we all have a
seat and a voice and check this out it’s
got a challenge for you
once you hear the voice you have to act
to make some changes that’s inclusion
that’s what matters for me I just want
to make sure that I’m leaving a better
world for my daughter an inclusive world
will do that for her so I think of
diversity like a fruit bowl and let’s be
honest Akron we’re still that fruit bowl
if you think about communities on the
east side versus communities on the west
side they look and feel completely
different we’ve got a lot of work to do
but my goal is for us to be a fruit
salad my goal is for us to be able to be
connected my goal is for us to learn and
lean and support each other’s flavors
but make sure we allow for people to
have their own Worth and integrity
because that will be an inclusive
society and America and Accra will be so
much better when we can say we are inclusive much love
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