TEDxRaleigh 2016, a regional TEDx event, canceled this talk about bias, prejudice, and diversity.
After initially being selected, this talk was canceled quite abruptly from TEDxRaleigh 2016 – a regional TEDx event in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The talk illustrates how we all learn and live through bias – but how we can better connect through understanding our diversity.
TEDx, founded as a platform for “ideas worth spreading,” rejected the completion of this talk after stating ‘it was not practical’ and ‘would not connect.’
But then a few in a committee are not allowing the public to decide what makes sense to them.
Even though the talk was pulled from the TEDxRaleigh event, it is such an important “idea worth spreading” especially as we’re navigating such divisive times.
Interestingly, just weeks after this talk was cancelled, North Carolina passed the infamous House Bill 2, also known as the ‘bathroom law’. That bill has been likened to Jim Crow laws of segregation, this time against the LGBT community. Furthermore the bill restricts any kind of discrimination cases from being heard in state courts. Related to Singh’s message, the North Carolina legislators failed to see past their own bias for understanding an alternative kind of living in the LGBT community and the challenges of diverse communities.
“It’s biologically proven we view events, memories, and details differently than every other person,” says Jeff. “But when we are so focused on defending our particular ways of living, we entirely miss the inter-connectedness that ultimately holds us all together. At this point it is crucial to understand this connectedness which radically changes the way we relate and collaborate in the world.”
Singh points to the unprecedented prejudicial statements coming forth through the Trump presidential campaign. He also looks at racial profiling in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as immigration challenges and a fragile global economy shaking up communities across national borders.
Jeff’s challenging, yet incredibly informative and inspiring TEDx talk can be found at: http://www.awakefree.com/tedx-
