Conversations about identity were the main focus this weekend while I was at the diversity and inclusion event, Mosaic. As a student facilitator, not only was I able to encourage others to participate in activities that I and my fellow facilitators had constructed, but I learned a little something from everyone in attendance.
We were all given notebooks that were to be used to express our thoughts on the activities during Mosaic. Many of my Mosaic folks may assume this, but of course, my notebook contained many thoughts including the fact that I forgot to bring a blanket and a pillow to Camp Wood, which is where Mosaic was located.
The most important part about my Mosaic weekend was spending time with people with colorful identities and backgrounds. Through our activities, I quickly found that life has bountiful strong-willed people to offer.
It was refreshing and heartwarming to hear personal accounts about the struggle of finding oneself in this great big world, and to simply feel a part.
I won’t speak on anyone else’s personal stories, but I will reveal how I was able to share my story to everyone comfortably, which was a theme throughout Mosaic events.
As a facilitator for the education activities, I was able to metaphorically place a mirror on participants so that they could truly understand what it meant to be black, gay and jewish, white, transgendered and christian, or mixed race, queer and atheist.
Mosaic participants were able to experience what it actually meant to identify as the above, and were challenged and questioned based solely on those identifiers. It sounds wrong now, but this activity only gave people a short glimpse into a life that someone has to live everyday.
Honestly, watching some of the black women breakdown into tears immediately made me want to be more understanding to the issues that they face on a daily basis by automatically being identified as black and a woman.
In a selfish attempt to cope with the situation, I wanted to hug every last one of them to show that not all black men are like the stories depict. But I quickly found that my logic was unfair to them, and from then on, all that I wanted to do was work on the black man.
After Mosaic, I understood that my focus shouldn’t be trying to prove how I wasn’t like the others, but to change the mindset of the others. To dismantle the toxic masculinity that seems to be ingrained in black men from birth until death.
By the end, my Mosaic family had created a fully diverse, integrated and accepting unit. And even better, we had encouraged each other to spread that mindset to others outside of that unit.
If you are interested in diversity and inclusion, event planning or education, and are thinking about becoming a Mosaic student facilitator, I encourage you to contact the director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Deanna Williams.
