The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be presenting a virtual panel discussion Oct. 22 open to all Ohio State faculty, staff and students in honor of LGBTQ+ history month. Credit: Courtesy of Johnell Pannell
In honor of LGBTQ+ history month, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will present a virtual panel discussion in support of people of color within the LGBTQ+ community and their experiences.
“Telling Our Stories” will be presented on Zoom Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. The event will be moderated by Nicole Nieto, assistant vice provost for outreach and engagement, who said she will be posing questions to four panelists that center around the intersections of identity and their own personal experiences. Questions from the audience will also be welcomed.
The panelists include Cynthia Tyson, a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning; Peter Oduwole, a clinical therapist in ODI; Mary Rodriguez, an assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Peyton Del Toro, a first-year Ph.D. student in English.
Nieto said the purpose of the panel will be to help uplift the voices of people of color in the LGBTQ+ community, which is something Del Toro said she appreciates.
“Other events in general will kind of make it more about LGBTQ+ people instead of making it for them,” Del Toro said. “I was just really happy to be a part of a panel that was going to be by and for queer people of color.”
Del Toro said she believes that the LGBTQ+ community always keeps in mind where they came from in regard to having this type of event during their history month, but always remembers how far they still have left to go.
“Just having a community space within such a large organization like Ohio State is really nice, especially by having various points of view and experiences,” Del Toro said.
Tyson said as an educator, any time she gets an opportunity to be a part of something that is going to increase people’s knowledge around an issue, she rarely says no.
“We’re dealing with two pandemics right now: one that’s around COVID-19 as well as racial injustice,” Tyson said. “It’s really important to make sure that whatever conversations we have are representative of multiple voices.”
Tyson said the event will educate and increase understanding among all attendees, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
“There are so many myths that are out there around who the people are that have these lived experiences, so I think if nothing more, people will be able to put a name with a face, with an experience,” Tyson said.
Tyson said walls of prejudice, bias and stereotyping come down when people share their stories.
“Stories are how we make sense of our lives and the lives of others. When you share your story of whatever it may be, you’ve invited people into relationships with you,” Tyson said.
“Telling Our Stories” will take place Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. Registration for the free event can be found on the event page posted on the ODI’s website. A Zoom link will be provided after registration.
