By: Zinna Butcher & Janay Davis

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the UT Arlington Libraries hosted its first MavREAD event, which invited employees to share experiences and insights into the book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together (McGhee, 2021). MavREAD program provides another avenue for employees to enhance soft skills and create meaningful and inclusive conversations with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Dr. Bryan Samuel, the vice president of DEI, welcomed 80 employees who volunteered to participate in this powerful event. The crowd laughed as Dr. Bryan Samuel joked about whether anyone would show up and continued to express his appreciation to all the participants. Eunice Currie, associate vice president of the Cultural Competence Education and Diversity Programming introduced two MavREAD guests (Dr. Amy L. Tigner and Jhanelle R. Brown) as attendees enjoyed a free lunch.

Guest speaker Dr. Amy L. Tigner, a UTA professor of English and General Editor of Early Modern Studies Journal, continued the conversation by sharing her insights and guiding the participants through the introduction. As Dr. Tigner engaged the group with topics, she encouraged participants to share their own personal narratives. With heartfelt stories of how racism has affected their lives, several employees shared details about their childhood and unique experiences that played a role in their development. Dr. Tigner encouraged others to continue reading the entire book. She explained, "This book changes the way we think about ourselves, our history, and our university. How can we create a conversation that is inclusive to other people across the aisle and change people’s minds while changing governmental policy?"

The second guest and biggest surprise of the event was a live art illustration by Jhanelle R. Brown, a senior pursuing a double major in art and Korean. With every stroke, Brown captured the momentous occasion by translating the meeting into an original artwork. It was a day to remember as employees came together to listen, learn, share, and understand diverse perspectives. Special thanks to Dr. Bryan Samuel for keeping diversity and inclusion at the forefront of our conversations. In addition, special thanks to UTA Libraries Dean Rebecca Bichel and her staff for their partnership with the MavREAD program and their continued support.

To sign up for the MavREAD events, please visit the DEI Training Website.