Members of the Miami University community came together Thursday afternoon for the first panel in a series of conversations on diversity and Miami's initiative to become more accepting of multiple cultures.
Christine Taylor, associate vice president for institutional diversity, began the panel by recognizing the progress Miami has made toward becoming more diverse.
"Miami is moving in the right direction," Taylor said. "This first series of discussions couldn't come at a better time."
The lecture titled "Does Race Matter in 2009? - The African-American Experience" included panelists Denise Taliaferro Baszile, assistant professor of educational leadership, Stefanie Dunning, associate professor of English, Othello Harris, associate professor of kinesiology and health, and Brent Johnson, educational leadership graduate student.
The lecture's moderator, Raymond Terrell, assistant dean of research and diversity, cited Bill Clinton's presidency and the lack of discussion on race.
"We were promised a national discussion on race with Clinton, but it never materialized," Terrell said. "We want to start it up at Miami."
Terrell said racism at Miami comes in many forms - personal, institutional, covert and overt.
Terrell went on to describe his time at Miami, which began in 1956. During his second semester, a group of six students set fire to his newspaper while in the lobby of his residence hall.
"I gave a little physical harm to the radiator," Terrell said. "There was a disciplinary hearing and the decision was that I should have known better because I was older and more experienced and should have been able to better contain myself."
After voluntarily leaving Miami, Terrell vowed he would never come back. Terrell said since his return to Miami some things have changed, but some have not.
Harris said as a faculty member at a prestigious midwestern university, he has still been demeaned in subtle and overt ways.
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"Race is an issue we have never been at ease with and given our nation's history this is in some ways understandable," Harris said. "We need to respect one another, engage one another, so that we might understand one another."
Dunning talked about a Facebook.com application called "Crappy Gifts for Faculty of Color."
"A lot of things being brought up in this talk are widely recognized as issues that faculty of color deal with, so widely recognized that there is a Facebook application," Dunning said. "One gift being 'that poster of Toni Morrison in your office being mistaken for your mother.'"
Dunning said America is under the notion that we are operating in a post-racial era because we now have a black president.
"(Even after Obama) racism is persisting, and it almost feels like a downer," Dunning said.
Dunning posed the question, "How many voluntary, not situational, relationships do you have with those who are not the same race as you?"
If we want to promote an environment of diversity, Dunning said we have to be willing to have a relationship with people who are not like us.
Johnson talked primarily about the importance of historical context surrounding diversity.
"Talking in a contextual, a political and a historical sense will often remove the complexity and relevance of the conversation, and we need to understand that historical component," Johnson said.
Baszile said while we are all just people, the cultural values grounded in our historical differences need to be recognized.
Senior Laura Ferdinand, a theater major and Dunning's student, said she has discussed the issues brought up during the panel in her African-American literature class.
"The effectiveness of the panel is hearing different voices from our community," Ferdinand said. "It makes it closer to you instead of separating things."
Ferdinand agreed with Dunning's points about having voluntary relationships with those outside of your race.
"Knowing people is the best way to bridge gaps," Ferdinand said.
Taylor said upcoming panels, for both the remainder of this semester as well as the 2009-10 academic year, will include topics of physical disabilities, women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community.
The "Let's Talk About Disabilities" panel discussion will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. April 23 in the Shriver Center Heritage Room.
Lunch will be available to registered participants at 11:45 a.m. The registration deadline is April 15. To register, visit www.muohio.edu/train and select "Learning Opportunities," then "Topics" and finally "Human Resources Staff Development Workshops."
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