Selected to further our diversity, equity, and inclusion work, the following TED talks are offered to help us reflect on and engage in conversation of how we understand ourselves and others.

  • The videos will play from this page.  
  • Use the associated hyperlinked text to read the corresponding transcripts. 
    • Access to a transcript may help you select your sentence, phrase, and word for our discussion in the fall.

You are invited (and encouraged!) to add your sentence, phrase, and word in the comment section below as you watch and reflect. (Please be sure to include the title of the talk in your comment.) We will be excited to continue the conversation together in the fall using the Connect-Extend-Challenge protocol.

Racism has a cost for everyone | Heather C. McGhee

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The real story of Rosa Parks — and why we need to confront myths about black history | David Ikard

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“You Have the Rite” | Marc Bamuthi Joseph

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How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time | Braratunde Thurston

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An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | Alicia Garza, Patrissee Cullors, Opal Tometi

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Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | Nita Mosby Tyler

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3 ways to be a better ally in the workplace | Melinda Epler

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3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do | Stacey Abrams 

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What it takes to be racially literate | Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo

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Courage is contagious | Damon Davis

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How racial bias works — and how to disrupt it | Jennifer L. Eberhardt

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How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them | Verna Myers

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24 thoughts on “TED talks: Voices & Perspectives

  1. Meredith Burris

    Racism has a cost for everyone | Heather C. McGhee

    It costs us so much to remain divided.

    Zero-sum thinking

    Stereotype

  2. Meredith Burris

    The real story of Rosa Parks — and why we need to confront myths about black history | David Ikard

    So she wrote that autobiography to correct the record, because what she wanted to remind people of was that this is what it was like in the 1950s trying to be black in America and fight for your rights.

    Accidental activist

    Challenges

    • It makes me wonder where the teacher got her story of Rosa Parks, and it makes me grateful to work in a school with such quality resources at our disposal.

  3. Meredith Burris

    “You Have the Rite” | Marc Bamuthi Joseph
    (This one was pure poetry – a joy to listen to!!)

    Driving while Black is its own genre of experience.

    an exploded black hole

    mercy

  4. Meredith Burris

    How to deconstruct racism, one headline at a time | Braratunde Thurston

    When we change them, we write a better reality for us all to be a part of.

    narrative of racial difference

    inclusion

  5. Meredith Burris

    An interview with the founders of Black Lives Matter | Alicia Garza, Patrissee Cullors, Opal Tometi

    We are ordinary people attempting to do extraordinary things, and so we need to be supported in that way.

    painful realities

    effervescence

  6. Meredith Burris

    Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally | Nita Mosby Tyler

    You know, when you add your voice and your actions to situations that you don’t think involve you, you actually inspire others to do the same.

    unlikely allies

    Justice

  7. Meredith Burris

    3 ways to be a better ally in the workplace | Melinda Epler

    Change happens one person at a time, one act at a time, one word at a time.

    major bias toward youth in the tech industry

    advocate

  8. Meredith Burris

    3 questions to ask yourself about everything you do | Stacey Abrams

    I’m going to move forward, because going backwards isn’t an option and standing still is not enough.

    we all belong here

    justice

  9. Meredith Burris

    What it takes to be racially literate | Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo

    We need to each begin by learning in our own local communities, bridging the gaps between our own hearts and minds to become racially literate.

    see their bravery, their resilience, their history forgotten

    epidemic

  10. Meredith Burris

    Courage is contagious | Damon Davis

    But once I figured out that fear was not put in me to cripple me, it was there to protect me, and once I figured out how to use that fear, I found my power.

    conduit for all of this courage

    contagious

  11. Meredith Burris

    How racial bias works — and how to disrupt it | Jennifer L. Eberhardt

    We are all vulnerable to bias, but we don’t act on bias all the time.

    allow bias to blind us

    assumptions

  12. Meredith Burris

    How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them | Verna Myers

    You know, biases are the stories we make up about people before we know who they actually are.

    call to action

    denial

  13. Jennifer Tran

    Heather C. McGhee – Our fates are linked. Racism has a cost for everyone.

  14. Jennifer Tran

    David Ikard – Rosa Parks was not an accidental activist.

  15. Jennifer Tran

    Marc Mamuthi Joseph – A love over-rules…..16 year-old-boy freedom, make mistakes, and live through them, grow from them. Holy. Mercy.

  16. Opel Tometi – Trust….Different people contribute different strengths. We need to allow them to share and to shine.

  17. Nita Mosby Tyler – Love and courage. When you add your voice and actions to situations that you think don’t involve you, you inspire others to do the same.
    Justice counts on all of us.

  18. Jennifer Tran

    Melinda Epler – Change happens one person at a time, one act at a time, one word at a time. Be there for someone who needs you. Listen, echo, and attribute. Allyship.

  19. Jennifer Tran

    Stacy Abrams – Figure out the why – if you don’t know the why, you can’t try again. Not something you should do, but something you must do. Justice.

  20. Jennifer Tran

    Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo – Listen and learn more. Invest in others’ experiences as if they were our own. We cannot neglect the heart or the mind. Fight and care equally for all of us.

  21. Damon Davis – Courage. When I figured out how to use my fear, I found my power.

  22. Jennifer L Eberhardt – Categories can help us see the world, but they can also blind us. The brain is wired for bias and one way to interrupt it is to pause and reflect on those assumptions. Add friction.

  23. Verna Myers – Biases are stories we make up about people before we know them. Move toward young black men instead of away from them. Build relationships and friendships. Go away from y our comfort into bigger, brighter things.

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