The 2022 Diversity Conference is a space for the community to come together, reflect, educate and grow. Throughout the week of March 28 to April 1, a series of events will be offered on campus, at the downtown REOC campus as well as virtually. The forum will be aimed toward promoting open mindedness, celebrating diversity and recognizing divergent views throughout the community.
The theme of this year’s conference is S.H.I.F.T (Strength, Hope/Healing, Intentional Inclusion, Family/Friends and Togetherness). SUNY Brockport’s statement is as follows:
“Shifting is the movement from one place to another; to do that, we must be honest and reflective about the inequities and racial bias present at our institution to genuinely S.H.I.F.T. This conference will be a catalyst for leaning into our strengths to cultivate hope so that we can move toward a path of healing, allowing us to be intentionally inclusive towards our campus family and friends, so Brockport can be a community of togetherness.”
The headlining event of the conference is “Truth, History, and The 1619 Project,” presented by Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of The 1619 Project, investigative journalist and staff writer at The New York Times, Ms. Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Hannah-Jones led The 1619 Project with hopes to reframe America’s history through the lens of slavery. It was published in 2019, 400 years after the first enslaved people from Africa arrived in the Virginia colony.
This free event is open to the public and will be held on April 1 from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. in the SERC. Registration is required. There will be a short Q&A after the session and attendees are encouraged to submit questions for Hannah-Jones prior to the start of the event. A link to do so, and to register, is available on Brockport’s event calendar webpage. Directly following the Q&A Hannah-Jones will sign copies of her books from 2–2:45 p.m.
There will also be a meet and great with Hannah-Jones available to students in the Seymour College Union from 11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Other events held on Friday include “Essence” with Ms. Cocoa Rae David and Dr. Tamala David, and “From Frederick Douglass to Daniel Prude — How Redlining, Restrictive Covenants and Violent, Racialized Policing Have Shaped Rochester, NY” with Professor Carvin Eison.
“Essence” will discuss Pigment Series, David’s collection of mixed media artwork that captures a wide range of people from different racial backgrounds and experiences. The event will be held in the Seymour College Union, room B116 from 10:10–11 a.m.
Eison’s forum will discuss how through redlining, restrictive covenants and aggressive policing Rochester and Monroe County remain in a standstill, particularly in regard to the equity and prosperity of Black residents. The event will be held in the Seymour College Union, room 119 from 11:15 a.m.–12:05 p.m.
