Activism and allyship will be promoted as a way to inspire the next generation to create positive change as part of a public presentation on diversity at Somersfield Academy tomorrow.

The keynote speaker is chief diversity officer at St Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland, Rodney Glasgow — a noted facilitator, trainer and activist in the areas of diversity, equity, and social justice.

The Harvard graduate’s talk at the Activate and Motivate-Activism to Promote Change event will be followed by sessions by students from Somersfield as well as other public and private schools. These will explore the dynamics of activism in a diverse community, while questioning what it is and who should participate.

There will be a second session by student diversity leaders who will facilitate exercises based on “the core cultural identifiers: race/ethnicity, gender, family structure, age, sexual orientation, ability, religion and socio-economic status.”

At lunchtime there will be a session for parents and teachers by Mr Glasgow and co-facilitator Charlie Judd, Somersfield Academy’s secondary division head, on the topic of privilege.

Mr Glasgow and Mr Judd will share a presentation titled Understanding Privilege and its Effects on Students in the Private School Setting as part of this session.

Adults will be able to discuss how to talk about issues of privilege in “an age-appropriate way” with their children. Topics covered include what issues parents should be addressing with their children and at what age, as well as how those conversations can work effectively.

Mr Glasgow, who is founder and chairman at the National Diversity Directors Institute and chairman of NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference, told The Royal Gazette: “This year, our work will focus on the concept of activism and allyship, continuing to inspire young people to find their cause and work to make positive change around an area of their passion.

“I will use the recent election for US president as a backdrop for defining and designing activism as well as general commentary on the state of diversity on our planet, across a number of identifiers.

“I want them to leave the day realising their power to make change in their schools, their homes and communities, and everywhere they go, just by living their lives with positive intention and right action. I want them to see the role that young people play in moving our society forward. I want them to be closer to figuring out the issues that burn inside them and spark their desire to lead for change.”

Mr Glasgow has worked with Somersfield Academy several times over the past few years, engaging with students and faculty on topics of diversity while working with students from other schools on the island who attend their annual conference.

A connection was made with the school when he served on an advisory board on equity and diversity for the vice-president of the National Association of Independent Schools with Somersfield Academy’s business manager and director of admissions Stacey-Lee Williams.

Mr Glasgow is a featured writer in the book Diversity in Independent Schools and he wrote the prologue for the recently released One Teacher in Ten in the New Millennium: LGBT Educators Speak Out About What’s Gotten Better ... And What Hasn’t.

As a “black, gender-nonconforming student in an all boys, predominantly white private high school” Mr Glasgow says it was his “purpose on the planet” to enter his field of expertise.

“That pivotal experience in my formative years led me to my purpose — to inspire self-love and positive change anywhere I went, highlighting inequity and offering ways to move forward towards inclusivity, and celebrating the diversity of life.

“I studied these issues academically as I lived them out in the real world. I have worked for more than 15 years in private schools doing this important work. I now have a consultancy firm, The Glasgow Group, which has a small but mighty group of consultants who do this work together and train adults through the National Diversity Practitioners Institute.

“I did not have a choice of doing this work. It is my purpose on the planet, divinely chosen, instilled at birth. My everyday life reminds me how important it is, as there are still places where I don’t feel safe or heard or seen, and there are places where my whole being is at home. I’m thankful to say that in those terms, Bermuda is like a home for me.”

Asked whether, as a gay man, he ever felt discriminated against in Bermuda which last year voted against same-sex marriage and civil unions in a referendum, Mr Glasgow responded: “I must say that my experience has been that Bermuda is more open-minded and accepting than it thinks itself to be.

“Like anywhere, it has a conservative voice which may only be growing, but there is also a strong voice pushing for diversity and inclusivity, including more acceptance of LGBT people and spaces on the island

“I believe that this generation of young people will be key in changing the mindset. In the few years I have worked with high school students in Bermuda, slowly but surely I have seen more of them willing to come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and the acceptance they get from their peers in doing so is very encouraging.”

• Anyone wishing to attend the event must register by e-mailing Stacey-Lee Williams on swilliams@somerfield.bm or by calling 239-3340. The event is free of charge and includes a light lunch