“When you have maybe the only Black male that comes into an all-White biology class at Bunker Hill, coming from a predominantly Black community, and he’s seated in that class, he feels uncomfortable. Because you know what’s on his mind? I’m all alone,” Johnson added.

He said that many young minority males are constantly tempted by friends to fall into a life of crime and despair, some of who “are going to say, ‘Let’s go smoke a joint’ — that’s the reality, and we have to create a new learning community, a new learning experience,” allowing a young minority male to “pull some of his friends in because they’re going to see a change that’s positive.”

Phair spoke of his many experiences heading up faculty search committees, telling the audience how difficult it is to encourage search committee members to examine their own biases before accepting or rejecting individual candidates. Phair somewhat humorously acknowledged that he has a bias against tall people, saying that those responsible for faculty hiring “need to identify our biases” and “talk openly about them. …  I had to put myself in check as well. I’m certainly not perfect.”

Given the economic turmoil currently affecting the United States, NISOD Director Evelyn N. Waiwaiole said she was “shocked” by the turnout to the conference, which drew people from 600 two-year colleges from eight countries.

“Truthfully, with the economy the way it is today, we are pleasantly surprised at the numbers that have come,” Waiwaiole said. “An amazing wealth of knowledge has come together for a learning event where we all learn together,” she added.

For more information on NISOD, visit http://www.nisod.org/.

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