Luqman Adeniyi is a student in GSEHD's Master's in Organizational Leadership and Learning (OLL) and an Associate Producer at CNN. He recently published an article on CNN.com entitled, "Racism in America: Reflecting on my role as a journalist in this moment."
In the article, Adeniyi states, "Being a journalist at this time is tough. Being a professional trying to keep their head above water and do their job is tough. Being a human confronted by and challenged on long-held beliefs we knew and didn’t know we had is tough. But most evidently, being Black in America is tough — all the time."
He goes on to voice his concerns about writing the article : "Even as I pitched the idea to write this type of personal essay I started to think, am I going too far, how would this affect my future, are other Black people going to feel represented and empowered with this? What are the other side effects to me publicly calling out my feelings against white supremacy and racism on a large platform? To be frank, it’s ridiculous that I feel like I can’t talk about my opposition to racism plainly and have these thoughts of negative repercussions cross my mind. This should not be an issue of contention or have any concern with journalistic ethics. Racism is bad, period."
Adeniyi summarizes his thoughts in the following excerpt: "Journalists have the responsibility to become allies in this fight against racism. Our job is about empathy, communicating people’s stories and emotions, and upholding the values of freedom and the pursuit of happiness found in the same Constitution that we use to do our jobs. My allies in this industry and allies across the country have to step up and help Black, Brown and other marginalized groups feel supported and safe to speak their minds in every environment. Only then can we truly begin to heal from the deep-rooted pain, dehumanization and prejudice that is embedded in the systems of this country."
When the GSEHD team reached out to Adeniyi about the article, he said, "Tying this back to OLL, it’s the concept of public reflection, focus on vulnerability, psychological safety and transformative learning that inspired me to share my perspective with a wide audience. It’s just another real-world example of what we are learning in the class being applied in the workplace."