Monday, October 5, 2020
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
This event has passed
Much like our country, our companies and organizations are struggling to talk about and heal from racism, sexism, exclusion, polarization, cynicism, distrust. Morale is low — when we need it to be high. Aarti Shahani — award-winning journalist, bestselling author, first-generation immigrant — proposes a clear path forward: boldness + honesty.
Shahani's own journey is remarkable — from undocumented kid to NPR Silicon Valley correspondent, with stops including a ritzy Manhattan prep school, the notorious Rikers Island jail, the hallowed halls of Harvard, an international kidnapping and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Shahani spent nearly half her life fighting to keep her father in America. After winning that campaign, she pivoted to business journalism and a meteoric rise at NPR.
“I got full rides to the best schools. My dad got locked up, his life destroyed, just for trying to feed his family. We’re proof that the American Dream and nightmare are both real. It’s on us — the leaders of families, communities and workplaces — to celebrate what works, indict what doesn’t, and use our power to make change.”
All Marquette University faculty and staff are invited to listen to Shahani'spowerful journey and unique perspective as a first-generation immigrant and woman of color, and to discuss issues of race and allyship. The first 50 people to register will receive a paperback copy of her bestselling memoir, Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, when it arrives later this fall.
This event is part of the Marquette Forum and is co-sponsored by Marquette's Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Women's Innovation Network and the Institute for Women's Leadership. For questions, please contact Jacki Black at jacqueline.black@marquette.edu.