STARS

Hope. Health. Connection.

  • Home
  • About
    • Our History
    • Board of Directors 2023
    • Leadership Team
  • Programs
    • Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists
    • Student Assistance Program
      • What Makes Us EBP?
      • Contact
    • Enhanced Student Assistance Program
    • Kids on the Block
      • Meet the Puppets
      • Menu of Presentations
      • Request for presentations
      • Literacy Initiative
      • Video Series
      • Contact
    • Deaf or Hard of Hearing
      • Video Series
      • Contact
    • Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse
      • Confidential Referral Form
      • Have the Conversation
  • Trainings
    • Conferences
    • Olweus Trainers
    • Calendar
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Subscribe
  • Donate Now
    • Matching Gifts
  • Events
  • Contact

March 28, 2017 By Andrew Maraniss

Andrew Maraniss on Race

The other day I was scanning Twitter and ran across a provocative thread of posts from an attorney, librarian and writer named April Hathcock.

“Ok, friends,” she wrote, “We’re going to stop talking about “diversity & inclusion” when what we’re really talking about is race, racism, and whiteness … We’re going to stop talking about “diversity & inclusion” when what we’re really talking about is queer hate, trans hate, heteronormativity…We’re going to be intentional about the oppression and violence about which we speak. We’re going to be intersectional but also specific … We’ve been using intersectionality as an excuse to use feel good euphemisms. We’re going to stop doing that.”

I was intrigued by April’s reframing of the subject because not only does it appeal to the activists among us, in its specificity it can be used to disarm the cynic who dismisses diversity and inclusion efforts as unnecessary, liberal, PC mumbo jumbo. Let’s get real, April is saying.

In 2014, I published a book called STRONG INSIDE, a biography of Perry Wallace, the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. Wallace played at Vanderbilt University in the late 1960s, and as he made history on the basketball courts of the Deep South, Wallace feared for his life. He’d ask himself what’s the worst that could happen, and in his mind, he imagined being shot and killed somewhere like Starkville, Mississippi or Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he was routinely harassed by fans with threats with lynching or castration. Back on his own campus in Nashville, Wallace was kicked out of a white church, his best friend was addressed by the N-word on his first day of English class.

A few months ago, I converted STRONG INSIDE into a young readers’ edition, aimed at kids 10 and older. With concern over the sensitivities of some readers (or more accurately, their parents), I debated how much of the derogatory language to keep in this condensed version of the book. In the end, I opted to keep all of it. The truly offensive thing, I decided, would be to whitewash history and let the racists off the hook by sanitizing their words, and in so doing minimizing the hostility and discrimination Wallace encountered and so courageously overcame.

So, I appreciate that this isn’t international diversity day. It’s the International Day for the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination. And this year’s theme isn’t “Celebrate (Insert Diverse Name Here) Culture Day.” Rather, the theme is “Racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration.”
This is the kind of real language April Hathcock was calling for. And a reminder that sometimes being careful about the language we use means telling it like it is, not cleaning it up.

About the Author

Andrew Maraniss Headshot Andrew Maraniss is the New York Times-bestselling author of STRONG INSIDE. The original, adult version of the book received the Lillian Smith Book Award for civil rights and the RFK Book Awards’ Special Recognition Prize for social justice. The Young Readers edition has been named one of the Top 10 Biographies for Youth by the American Library Association’s Booklist.

Follow Andrew on Twitter @trublu24, and visit his website at www.andrewmaraniss.com

Strong Inside Cover
Order his book!

Filed Under: Awareness, Kids on the Block, MOVE2STAND, Services for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Student Assistance Program, Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse (YODA)

Stay Connected.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Our Supporters:

  • Giving Matters
  • Olweus
  • UW
  • NREPP
  • UW Rutherford
  • UW Sumner
  • UW Williamson
  • UW Nashville
  • UW Wilson


STARS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, culture, religion or creed, socioeconomic status, language, age, sexual orientation, or national origin. No one shall be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any of STARS’ programs or activities. STARS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

This agency is funded, in part, by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Tennessee Department of Education and by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. This project is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee.
  • Employment
  • Youth Opportunity Center
  • Staff Login
  • Admin Login
  • Financials and Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 STARS Nashville