Dr. Robert Livingston Talk Hayden Hubert

 Dr. Robert Livingston Lecture

Hayden Hubert

Today I attended Dr. Robert Livingston's talk surrounding his book "Play the Game Change the Game Leave the Game." I enjoyed this talk well enough. I didn't think that the information he was sharing was necessarily groundbreaking, but this is relative to my prior Spelman education. I think for people of different backgrounds, this book could be helpful. But this talk made me think about how at Spelman, we often hear a lot from a specific standpoint that we wouldn't hear anywhere else. Spelman has many lecturers who are actively employed in anti-racism, social justice, community service, and empowering black people. I think this is profound, and like many people say, there is no place like Spelman. But, realizing that we are often only hearing one sort of perspective made me reflect on why this could be. 

I think most people who come to Spelman already have some background in dealing with anti-blackness, systemic racism, discrimination, etc. Additionally, I think ADW is built upon the assumption that Spelman first-years were fed a whitewashed history and have experienced the unforgiving reality of being a Black person in a racist, white world. I have a different background, where I came from a predominantly Black area and was rarely the minority in the room. This is not to say that I haven't experienced racism, but I surely had not experienced this reality to the same extent as my peers when I was taking ADW.

So, tying back to my wondering of why we often hear one perspective of overall pro-Black people is because outside of the Spelman gates, these voices are quieted. This is one of the few places that illuminate these people and uplift their academic contributions. The talk today was highly informative, but I especially appreciated the questions it sparked within me about the academic community I am involved in.