The Unity of Diversity

My ex-girlfriend and I entered the room silently as everyone took their seats. There were twenty-five people gathered in a circle. Some wore smiles, but most had stern expressions fixed on their faces: the faces of indignation and activism. Yet the room emitted an aura of acceptance and understanding, and no one seemed the slightest bit shocked by any of the unusual appearances present. I saw women with shaved heads and men in women’s clothing. I had entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s yearly Unity Conference.

The Unity Conference was founded in 2001 by UNC student Trevor Hoppe. Inspired by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Annual Creating Change event, Hoppe worked to bring something to Chapel Hill that was more accessible to students and community members. The Unity Conference is a project of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Straight Alliance, a student group at UNC. Workshops are given on a variety of topics ranging from lesbian sex toys to the history of the U.S. transgender movement. It is run entirely by students, but also stretches its message to the broader community.

The Lecture we attended was titled, “Making a Statement: How the Language We Use Reflects Our Politics” and was presented by UNC’s Feminist Students United. After everyone introduced him or herself and their sexual orientation, a lively discussion was held on sexist and homophobic language present in pop-culture and modern slang. Every group represented raised different concerns to discuss. They brought up issues of male dominance in society, the overwhelming amount of subconscious sexism in everyday speech and how ageism can reinforce sexism. Some spoke with passionate outrage about how they had been treated in their lives, while others shared personal stories quietly about their own struggles with identity.

After the workshop, we went to see the Keynote speaker for the conference, Loretta Ross. The event was held in one of UNC’s many auditoriums, and all two-hundred seats were filled with eager students and teachers. In fact, so many people showed up to see Ross’ address that the aisles were overflowing with people clamoring with anticipation.

Ms. Ross is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education, the USA Partner of the Peoples’ Decade of Human Rights Education. She's a leading voice for women’s rights nationally and internationally, and she works closely with the poor and communities of color. She was one of the first African-American women to direct a rape crisis center, and she also directed the National Black Women’s Health Project.

Ross, a large woman with a commanding voice, stepped up to the podium and amazed the crowd into various states of comical hysteria and stunned silence. She spoke for an hour on activism, self-identity, human rights and equality for all sexes, genders and races. She said, as a black woman, that her struggle to overcome oppression aligned her with all people, regardless of race or orientation, who felt a similar sense of repressed freedom. “Even if, one day, African-Americans are treated as equals universally,” she declared, “if all people cannot be free all over, then I can never be free.” The crowd erupted into a standing ovation when she finished her speech, and some cried softly as they clapped their hands.

I saw the passion in these peoples’ lives, in the way they view their identities. They don’t consider themselves confused or as oddities to be mocked. They just regard themselves as people living the only way they know how and wanting to be treated with the same respect we are all promised.