Activist and author Debby Irving talked with students about what she explained as an epidemic of “white silence.” Ms. Irving, this year’s Multiculturalism and Community Development Speaker, said that when it comes to racism in the United States, white people must be part of “cross-racial conversations” in order to make progress on racial divisions and injustices. A graduate of the Winsor School in Boston, Ms. Irving holds a bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College and an M.B.A. from Simmons College. She is the author of Waking Up White.
“We are all connected, but we are damaged, and we need to repair that damage.”