There will be some very interesting events revolving around diversity happening in the month of September.
Michael Carter, Chief Diversity Officer at Sinclair and Senior Advisor to the President, has overseen the organization and planning of these events. One of the office’s goals is to educate the community on topics that may be too forward for some.
“We have the events because we are trying to build a culture of being welcoming and supportive,” said Carter.
These events will occur throughout the year and touch on themes ranging from racial problems to having a conversation with Sinclair’s chief of police. He encourages those interested to try to connect to these things so that they may have any questions answered.
The goal, according to Carter, is to “create a culture of inclusiveness.”
“The Longest Table,” scheduled to occur on September 20, will create an atmosphere where people can sit down to ask questions, given to them in the form of prompts, and answer any question. The questions asked might include questions about what their beliefs are or where they are from. After ten minutes, a timer will go off and facilitators will be on hand to make sure everyone has asked a question and switched seats.
“We just want people to engage with people they wouldn’t normally engage with,” said Carter.
The goal and message of these events is to educate the community about things that are around them but that they may only know so much about.
Mr. Carter is encouraging everyone to come forward if they had any ideas that they would like to address that have not been thought of.
Later in the month, there will be events that involve the celebration of Hispanic Heritage month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
“We want for people to be comfortable and feel included when we do these types of events,” said Carter.
To learn more about what the Office of Diversity has to offer, check out its full schedule of events.
Jose Valdez
Intern