Haderah Phillips- Beyond Equality: Pathways to Black Empowerment and Joy (Attending author talks/book readings)

     Attending Robert Livingston's talk on his book "Play the Game, Change the Game, Leave the Game: Pathways to Black Empowerment, Prosperity, and Joy" on September 30th, 2025 left me reflecting deeply on what it truly means to move the needle toward racial equality and liberation. Livingston's perspective was bold, and in many ways healing. Instead of centering whiteness or focusing solely on equality, he pivoted the conversation toward empowering the black community, encouraging us to focus on strengthening ourselves while understanding the systems we move through. 

    One of the most striking parts of his talk was his honesty about how racism continues to shape society. He spoke about concepts like "whitening resumes," where changing a name to sound more "white" increases the likelihood of being hired. It's a painful reminder of how bias operates in everyday life. Robert Livingston shared a story about Diamond Wilson, who was rejected from a white sorority because they thought she was Black. This highlights how these barriers are not imagined, they are lived experiences that many people can face.

    Livingston’s stated his turning point came after the George Floyd tragedy, when he asked himself how to truly “move the needle” toward racial justice. He described racism as an addiction which is something white America can’t seem to stop, despite knowing the harm it causes. This concept was powerful because it challenged the idea that racism is simply ignorance or hatred. Instead, it’s a deep-rooted dependency on dominance, one that harms not only Black people but white people too. His point that “they not only harm us, they harm themselves” stayed with me. It reminded me that healing and progress must come from both sides. What I found most inspiring were his “three pathways”: playing the game, changing the game, and leaving the game. Playing the game means learning to succeed within the existing system, while changing the game involves challenging it from the inside to create new access and opportunities. Leaving the game, however, is about creating our own, through entrepreneurship, community building, and independence. He also drew a distinction between “climbers” and “lifters” those who focus solely on personal success and those who use their success to uplift the community. That idea resonated with me deeply. It made me think about how I want to show up in my career and in life: not just to climb, but to lift others as I rise.

    Livingston also mentioned that when he interviewed Angela Davis, he asked her "whether all efforts since the 1960s had been a waste, given the state of the world today." Her life and persistence are proof that no step toward justice is ever wasted. The struggle is ongoing, but so is the resilience. Overall the message Robert Livingston got across is that, we cannot wait for others to fix a system that was never built for us. Instead, we must use love, strength, and unity to build something better.

-Haderah Phillips

-Haderah Phillips