Emory will celebrate National Diversity Week Oct. 3-9 with events for students, faculty and staff. Throughout the week, the entire Emory community can explore programs that address multiple aspects of identity, including ability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.
To kick off the week, Carol Henderson — vice provost for diversity and inclusion, as well as chief diversity officer, will deliver a keynote address about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at Emory.
“For me, diversity is the human experience; that’s the only way I can describe it,” says Henderson, who is also adviser to the president. “It’s the intersectional expression of the human experience. We’re not just one thing.”
National Diversity Week was founded in 1998 in order to raise awareness about the diversity in the United States. Officially, National Diversity Week falls in the full first week of October and is celebrated on a city-wide or company-wide scale across the U.S., though some organizations observe it at other times of the year.
“I wanted to do National Diversity Week when I first got here, but realized we needed the different areas of our DEI efforts to coalesce first,” says Henderson. “Now, we won the HEED Award, and everyone has been doing such great work. I want our campus to enter into dialogue with the national conversation around diversity week.”
Here are a few events to look forward to during National Diversity Week:
Monday, Oct. 3
The week will lead off with a diversity fair in Asbury Circle from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Students will have the chance to find communities that align with their identities as well as explore ways they can help create a more equitable campus environment. Representatives from the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life, Campus Life, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and many more will be in attendance.
At noon, the Emory Pride Employee Network will host a trans education panel on Zoom. Attendees will hear from leaders and trailblazers in the trans community. Register here.
Wednesday, Oct. 5
Grab your popcorn and nachos for a twilight screening at 5 p.m. of the television series “This Is Us” at Harland Cinema in the Dobbs Center. There will be a discussion after the screening. During its six seasons on NBC, “This Is Us” explored the lives of adult triplets — two boys and one girl, two white and one Black — and how they experienced the same family differently. From class to race, the Pearson family tackles many issues in an ever-changing America. RSVP today.
Thursday, Oct. 6
Students on both campuses will be able to participate in evening programs. Oxford College will be hosting a Dooley Diversity Dialogue at 5 p.m. in the Emory Student Center’s Mural Room. This roundtable discussion will cover a variety of current events. The dialogue is designed to educate students about concepts that include microaggressions, stereotyping, discrimination, orientation/expression/identity and more.
On the Atlanta campus, the Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Library will host its second-annual drag show at 7 p.m. in the Jones Room of the Woodruff Library. This event is free and open to the public. Browse the library’s exhibition “Forbidden Loves and Secret Lusts: Selections from the Golden Age of Queer Pulp Fiction,” featuring queer pulp novels from its collections. Then, get ready for a night to remember featuring performances by some of Atlanta’s most talented queens, including Lori Devine, Kellie Divine, Myah Ross Monroe, Eileen Slightly and Diego Wolf as well as New Orleans’ own Reba Douglas. The event will be hosted by drag comedy queen, Lorelei.
At noon, The Emory Alumni Association is hosting a virtual professional development workshop, Imposter Syndrome: Tips to Combat Self-Doubt, that will tackle imposter syndrome. In this workshop, Chi Chi Okezie 98Ox 00C, owner and producer at SIMPLENetworking, will explore more about imposter syndrome and three key techniques for overcoming it, including practical behaviors for sustaining a positive mindset. Whether in the workplace or in personal settings, imposter syndrome can hinder our growth and relationships. Register today.
Sunday, Oct. 9
The entire Emory community is invited to walk in the Atlanta Pride Parade. Shuttles will leave from the Atlanta campus heading to Emory Midtown for everyone to meet up and show their Emory Pride during the parade. View the official parade map. At 9:30 a.m., parade participants can get t-shirts at a free, pre-parade breakfast in the Jenkins Courtyard at Goizueta Business School.
For more information about National Diversity Week events at Emory, visit the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
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