INCLUSION over Diversity | Kenyona Matthews | TEDxAkron

Inclusion will actually CHANGE our rooms. Inclusion GIVES people the ability to express themselves authentically. The work of our society cannot focus on simply folks being in the room anymore. All people must have a voice, we need to listen to them, and then we must ACT. Much love. inclusion, and anti-racism. She is a University of Akron School of Law graduate who focused civil liberties. She earned her bachelors from Guilford College majoring in Political Science, Philosophy, and African American Studies. She was an active college student helping to start an Anti-Racism team at Guilford College, responsible for organizing city-wide diversity/inclusion events, and developed coursework focusing on race and racism.
After college, Ms. Matthews served as an AmeriCorps Vista North Carolina Campus Compact Multicultural Service Coordinator. Her focus was facilitating, organizing, and training students to work in multicultural communities.
In 2016, Ms. Matthews co-founded Dimensions of Isms with Ginger Bakos. What started out as a three-part workshop on diversity issues (racism, classism, sexism) became a grassroots organization. The vision for Dimensions of Isms is to bring awareness and progression to societal issues through training in corporate environments, church workshops, speaking engagements, and other civil and social organizations.
Ms. Matthews continues to speak with various organizations throughout Northeastern Ohio including: Indivisible, Big Love, local elementary and high schools, and Women’s March on Washington. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx