NFL’s LGBT Inclusion Consultant Wade Davis speaks on intersectionality at Bunker Hill Community College
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
BOSTON, March 5, 2019—Former NFL cornerback and equality advocate Wade Davis addressed the Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) community on Thursday, February 28, 2019, as part of the College’s Compelling Conversation series.
A thought leader and public speaker on gender, race and orientation equality, Davis is the NFL’s first LGBT inclusion consultant. He currently consults for professional sports leagues on issues at the intersection of sexism, racism and homophobia, developing league-wide inclusive leadership strategies, leading inclusive training sessions for coaches and players and building national engagement initiatives.
In addition to his work in professional sports, Davis consults for Google, Netflix, MTV/VH1, 21st Century Fox and AppNexus to create inclusive corporate cultures. He is also an active contributor on numerous educational and media projects to engage men on issues of gender equity and equality and ensure women’s workplace equality.
At the event, Davis discussed how Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech represents modern-day intersectionality. “History is not just meant to give us facts,” said Davis. “It allows us to find and understand truth.”
He urged the BHCC community to ask questions to try to understand those around them at the various intersections of sexism and racism. “That is what Martin Luther King’s speech was about at the core,” he said. “It was about how we close the distance between each other so that we can see ourselves in one another, and so that we can finally love one another.”
Jacqueline R. McMillon-Williams, Director of Advising and LifeMap and BHCC alumna, delivered the opening remarks to Thursday’s presentation. “I am what a community college graduate looks like, in fact, I am what a Bunker Hill Community College graduate looks like,” she said, “And I am standing here today to thank you for taking part in BHCC’s tradition of ensuring that diverse perspectives are heard and affirmed on campus.”
In partnership with BHCC’s newly launched Center for Equity and Cultural Wealth, the series of speakers for 2018-2019 is intended to support meaningful and relevant discussion both inside and outside the classroom as part of the College’s ongoing exploration of power, privilege, equity and cultural wealth which served as the focus of the College’s first Equity and Cultural Wealth Institute in May 2018.
Lee Santos Silva, Professor and Chair, English Department, introduced Davis to the BHCC community. “We know who we are and we know what we value,” he said, “And chief among our values is respect for each other and respect for ourselves. It’s an honor to be part of a community that holds these values, but it’s even more exciting to be part of the work that breathes flesh, blood and movement into these values so that we can live them out in our work and in our lives.”
For more than ten years, BHCC has hosted nationally-recognized thought leaders and speakers to share their experiences and opinions in onstage conversations, literary readings and compelling lectures that both expand and challenge the BHCC community’s awareness of contemporary issues. For a complete list of speakers, past, present and future, please visitbhcc.edu/cc.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).