From artists to scientists, TEDxUNC sparked conversation about diversity by bringing together a wide spectrum of speakers and performers to discuss color, both as race and as a form of expression, on Saturday.
The topic, Colorwheel, was chosen by this year’s student organizers Katie Rha, Alexa Schleien and Doug Reyes in an effort to encompass the arts, as well as stimulate discussion about race and diversity.
“We were building off the social tension that we feel in the country and on campus right now," Schleien said. "And we wanted to make a strong statement towards inclusivity, accessibility and diversity.”
The conference was structured with the first section of speakers presenting about the problematic nature of the binary between black and white, both as race and as worldviews. The conference then transitioned into the idea of color and how our world is a nuanced make-up of the colorwheel — with varying races, perspectives and cultures.
Opening speaker Chérie Rivers Ndaliko, an assistant professor in the Department of Music, focused her presentation on activism, and the need to listen to people and their stories, rather than the labels we put on them. She said this skill is a key to personal growth as well as furthering the humanity of others.
"Just as labels like 'rebel' or 'rape victim' overshadow the humanity of the people they intend to identify, labels like 'activist' also cast shadows," Ndaliko said.
The discussion of race continued throughout the second half of the conference. Speaker Shizu Saldamando discussed the United States' Japanese internment camps and their connection to her art, while Megha Kadakia outlined the representation of Southeast Asians in American movies and media.
Kadakia highlighted the value of recognizing stories like her own.
“The more light we see, the more we can see the truth,” Kadakia said.
