Several weeks ago, comedian W. Kamau Bell challenged the Trinity community to start having important conversations “” uncomfortable as they may be “” about inclusion and diversity. This Monday, the members of Tigers For Liberty (TFL) plan to do just that.
TFL members felt that some of Bell’s comments were demeaning toward conservatives. In an effort to offer another perspective on some of the issues he presented, they will be hosting Diversity Post Bell: A Discussion on Race and Politics this Monday. The event will be a question and answer style discussion featuring ten minority millennials who are also Republicans.
“At one point in the lecture, Mr. Bell inferred that to support the Republican presidential nominee you have to be a racist and also that Dr. Ben Carson is no longer a member of the African American community because he is a Republican,” said Jonah Wendt, TFL field director and chief financial officer. “He has the right to say what he wants, but we also hold a right to disagree and challenge his statements “” particularly remarks that demean people on the basis of their political views.”
Last year, the Tigers For Liberty faced heavy criticism for bringing Milo Yiannopoulos to campus because of the offensive nature of his presentation. TFL members say that this event aims to spark discussion, but in a more appropriate way.
“A panel discussion is more appropriate for a discourse-driven event that we seek to establish with our talented panel,” Wendt said. “The panel and the topic are important for Trinity because students need to see both sides of every topic. Often times people are told that Republicans are racist and all white. This is obviously wrong and this is one of our ways to prove this.”
The ten panelists hail from universities and political organizations around the state and represent various minority groups.
“We asked these people to speak for us because they are accomplished millennials who have taken concrete and substantial steps toward putting their conservative beliefs into action,” said Luke Ayers, TFL secretary.
Ayers says that TFL hopes that this panel will show the community that diversity is not just important to the left. The organization hopes that this will help people go into the upcoming election better informed.
“This is important to Trinity students because diversity is important to Trinity students,” Ayers said. “We are bringing light to the fact that there is diversity on the right side of the aisle. We also want to emphasize that people shouldn’t feel obligated to vote one way or the other because of any single characteristic about them “” whether that be race, religion, sexual orientation, income or anything else.”
The panel will take place on Monday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. in Northrup Hall 040.
