Ijeoma Oluo: Let's Talk Series

Ijeoma Oluo spoke via Zoom at the University of Arkansas for the Let’s Talk program on integrity and race. The event was a huge success with over 600 attendees.

Oluo spoke about her career path and how she came to be a New York Times best selling author. She shared her experiences as a person of color in the first portion of the presentation and how they guided her to writing So You Want To Talk About Race. This was truly an eye-opening and perfect way to wrap up the semester long Let’s Talk about Integrity and Race program. 

Oluo shared her insights and went on to list various actions members of campus and our community can take to make the University of Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas a more inclusive and equitable environment.

Here are some of the calls to action that Oluo provided:

1. It is important that faculty members open up and protect lines of communication with students and others to make safe spaces for BIPOC people to heal.
2. Don’t tell a history that is only trauma and pain. When educational institutions talk about race, they tend to focus on trauma. Oluo says it is important for institutions to support and celebrate cultures and not reduce people of color to the trauma they have faced.
3. Support staff and faculty of color and listen to those voices when they speak up. Students benefit when faculty and staff of color and the work they do is respected and honored.
4. Don’t forget about intersectionality. We must ensure we don’t leave anyone behind or become oppressors in our efforts to end oppression.
5. Repeatedly check-in. Years of racism are not undone by a few meetings or changes, it is work that needs to be checked in on.

Ijeoma Oluo was the final guest speaker for this semester’s Let’s Talk program. She helped us wrap up an impactful semester full of open, honest conversation and learning. Thank you to our community members and students, faculty, and staff of the University of Arkansas and other institutions for joining us.

We look forward to continuing these conversations and hosting additional guest speakers during our other Let’s Talk programs we have planned for the future!