Three and a half years ago, I succeeded Dr. Kenny Railey as Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Neurology. I had the good fortune to apprentice with Kenny for 4 months before he stepped down, during which time I learned a great deal about performing D&I work. He remains a mentor and good friend. Kenny is more religious than I am, and he speaks often of grace. The association between grace and divinity in both language and culture means that I’ve historically heard this word with religious connotations. Over the past year, though, I’ve begun to understand the power of grace that is invested in each of us. Grace is understanding. Grace is compassion. There are times we must ask for others’ grace and times we must show grace to others.
While we hear more about diversity, equity, and inclusion now than at any time I can remember, it’s not a new concept or movement. At no time in American history has one group or another not been struggling for full inclusion in society. For some groups, it’s been a constant struggle over centuries and for others it has come during distinct periods of time, but our society has never been particularly inclusive. As our department pushes forward on the journey to make our corner of the world more diverse, more equitable, and more inclusive, I know we still have a long road ahead of us. We have not achieved our diversity goals. We continue to have inequities. And it is not hard to find examples of exclusion. I ask you today for your continued grace as we strive to advance our mission. I know that we are not where we want to be, but I also know that our Diversity and Inclusion Committee works hard throughout the year to make things better for all of us. With the grace of the department, we will continue our efforts next year and every year to make Duke Neurology a national exemplar of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Kenny taught me another lesson about grace; he encouraged me to show grace to myself. If you’re like me, you might tend toward perfectionism. It’s a common trait among academic groups, I suspect. But the past two years have been difficult in so many ways. Maybe you didn’t have time to send holiday cards out to everyone you wanted to because your kids were home when their school shut down. Maybe you didn’t exercise as frequently as you know you should. Maybe you haven’t finished writing the manuscript you intended to get submitted by now. It’s ok. As Kenny frequently tells me, “Show yourself grace.” As you hear messages of peace and love over the next couple of weeks, remember to also be compassionate toward yourself. This is definitely a skill I’ve been working on, and it’s well worth the effort. I hope that this holiday season, we can all learn to show ourselves grace.
Finally, as the year closes, I want to personally thank every member of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Each person on this list deserves recognition for volunteering their time and energy for our D&I mission. Special thanks go to Rich O’Brien and J.T. Solomon whose commitment and leadership to D&I serve as the backbone for everything we’ve been able to accomplish as a department. And finally, a huge thank you to Will Alexander, my brainstorming partner, advisor, editor, webmaster, and so much more.
Abbie Suttle
Amadou Camara
Ashley Moore
Beth Kearney
Brain Mac Grory
Bryan Walker
Carlene Moore
Carol Colton
Cherylee Chang
Chris Eckstein
Claudia Gonzalez Hunt
Deborah Rose
Dedrick Jordan
Evelyn Morgan
Carmen Graffagnino
Hillary Yu
Jill Stuart
Jodi Hawes
Joel Morgenlander
JT Solomon
Katy Peters
Katie Moore
Kim Johnson
Kirby Gottschalk
Kristin Jones
Kyle Wuthrich
Len White
Lisa Gauger
Mariam Wasim
Janice Massey
Matt Ehrlich
Mary Guhwe
Nada El Husseini
Nick Hudak
Noreen Bukhari-Parlakturk
Pratik Chhatbar
Rich O’Brien
Roshni Dhoot
Scott Le
Shenita Wilson
Shree Shah
Simon Davis
Simon Gregory
Sneha Mantri
Steven Goodson
Suma Shah
Susannah White
Teikko Artis
Tung Tran
Vani Chilukuri
Will Alexander
Kevin Li