Last Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, the Wells College community enjoyed a virtual visit from Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College and a nationally renowned expert on the psychology of racism. Her book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” And Other Conversations about Race, was last fall’s first-year reading selection for incoming students, and we were honored to have her speak in person for a fascinating, informal dialogue with André Lynch, the College’s associate dean for equity and inclusion. Joining them was Serina Sheradin ’24, the finalist in an essay contest based on Tatum’s book.
As Dean Lynch said, “The heartbeat of our College is inclusivity. There is no better way to move toward inclusion than to speak about race and racism with our community members. The question of how these complex, and often difficult, topics inform our everyday lives — and how to spark meaningful conversation to navigate solutions — was the purpose behind this initiative.”
A full recording of Wednesday’s discussion can now be found at our YouTube channel (or see below).
We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event, as well as our sponsors who helped make it possible:the Anne Frank Tree Project, Lansing Central Schools, Nazareth College’s Department of Social Work, On Point for College, Peachtown Elementary School, Tompkins Families!, and Tompkins Trust Co.
For more on Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, visit her website at beverlydanieltatum.com.
A Day On, Not a Day Off
Ever since Congress established the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in 1994, it has been a tradition to celebrate it actively as a day of service on campus – in other words, “a day on, not a day off.”
While we are sadly missing our students, who will not be on campus for another couple of weeks, we wanted to provide you with a link to a wonderful resource from AmeriCorps. At their website (click here), you can search their directory of volunteer service projects, or submit your own.