TACKLING RACISM IN ITS MANY FORMS VIRTUALLY
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other occurrences of social unrest in our nation and the world inspired Armah Shiancoe ’09, Kaysi Winsman ’09 and Darryl White, Sr. ’92 to host an alumni webinar titled Cultivating Cultural Intelligence: An Alumni Panel Series this past summer. The six-week series offered discussions on the following topics: Implicit and Unconscious Bias; Social Cues, Income and Generational Wealth; In Your Community (Empathy exercise via a self-guided individual listening challenge); Culture and Identity; Racism from an African Eye; and Privilege, Education and Business. “We wanted to create a safe space where we could
put real issues on the table and give participants a chance to hear and connect to others’ experiences,” Winsman explained, adding that the order of topics established building blocks in earlier conversations for later ones. Each discussion opened with an introductory survey of the topic(s) led by either alumni panelists or Queens professors. This established a foundation from which individuals shared their own experiences.
“I thought this was a great way for everyone to be
vulnerable and have transparency about what everyone is experiencing in the world today,” said Tamara Diaz- Matosas ’08, who was a panelist for the Social Cues, Income and Generational Wealth discussion. “It was interesting to hear my fellow alumni’s perspective, which was similar to my experiences.” As a result of such a well-received summer series
(175 alumni registered), a fall series was held including the following talks: Owning our Mindset: Identity and Implicit Bias with Professor Shawn Bowers Buxton ’01, Patriotism: Individual American Responsibility with Professor Bob Whalen and Communicating with Empathy with Associate Professor Daina Nathaniel ’00.
—Brandy Redmond
PLAYING FOR ALICIA KEYS AND HER FANS
What began as a quiet September evening watching Alicia Keys release her latest album, ALICIA, on Instagram Live turned into a night to remember for Terrance Shepherd ’18. Currently studying for his master’s in music composition at Radford University in Virginia, Shepherd was plucked out of social media air to have a conversation with Keys about her album and music in general. Upon discovering that Shepherd was classically trained in piano just as she was, Keys asked him to play. Shepherd was prepared and proceeded
to wow the singer/songwriter with the intro to Fallin’ and Harlem’s Nocturne, both hallmark pieces in Keys’ repertoire. “I’ve been studying her [Keys’] music since
I was 14,” explained Shepherd, who earned a BA in music from Queens after earning an associate degree in music from Central Piedmont Community College. “When she asked me to play, she didn’t know that. It was a blessing. I was ready to go.” Shepherd mentioned to Keys that he would
love to collaborate with her in the future and is hopeful that she will remember the night that he serenaded her with her own music. Said Shepherd, “It was almost unreal.” You can follow Shepherd’s musical journey
on Instagram at @
t.shepmusic. —Lori K. Tate
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