Adia Lowther: Academic Enrichment: Attending author talks/book readings: 2 points

On September 22nd, I attended the Colin Kaepernick: The Perilous Fight book signing and talk at the Ray Charles Center. The main theme was highlighting Colin's struggles ten years ago and how it relates to current events now. He talked about the Macklemore controversy, the money and opportunities he lost out on, and the similarities of the NFL draft and the slave auction. I thought this book talk was really well done and I learned more about the nuances of what happened earlier. I thought it was interesting how Kaepernik lost over $150 million because he stood up for what he believes in. I connected this event to some of the advocacy work learned in Race, Gender, and Medicine and the conflict between doing the right thing and personal interest.

One of the key points I took away from teh discussion was personal sacrifice. Kaepernick’s experiences demonstrated how standing up for an issue can affect a person’s career, finances, reputation, and future opportunities. This expanded my thinking because advocacy is often discussed in terms of the positive change it can create, but there is sometimes less discussion about what the person advocating may have to give up. It made me think more deeply about my future career path and how I want to move in a way that supports my community. 

This event contributed to my persona growth by making me introspect on my beliefs and decision-making. I may eventually encounter situations where advocating for patients or communities requires me to speak about an issue even when doing so is uncomfortable. I can apply what I learned from this event by becoming more intentional about understanding the issues I advocate for and recognizing that meaningful advocacy may require consistency even when there are consequences.

One of the main strengths was Kaepernik's response and the intelligence and wisdom that radiates from his speech. One thing I would improve is the length. I wish the event was longer and had more time for questions from the audience.