Bart Bailey, owner and principal consultant at Courage to Care, LLC, spoke to an audience hosted by Desales University Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This was the second of four weekly speakers honoring Black History Month.

In a mere 90 minutes, Bailey was able to ask provocative questions of the audience, triggering personal self-investigation of life long biases and beliefs. Bailey broke down concepts such as empathy, cultural awareness and culturally responsive action and used assorted media to illustrate how deep racism and social differences go.

“It’s important to encourage young people into change,” he said. “Generational stories, those passed from great grandparents to grandparents to families, perpetuate misinformation about communities as well as others.”

Anyone who has ever played “whisper down the alley” knows how quickly a story can change, he added.

Engaging the audience in an interactive conversation, Bailey pointed out that equality and equity are not the same.

“Equality is one standard/size for all,” he said. “Equity is the right fit for everyone.”

Looking at American history, Bailey addressed the Sharecroppers Act of 1865, the National Housing Act of 1934, Social Security Act of 1935, Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938.

“These acts were not limited to federal action,” he said, “but individual states which enacted similar laws that made it difficult for the freedmen to own land, or from becoming truly independent.”

Quoting Gloria Browne-Marshall, Bailey said, “Our laws support our values.

“Think about what can be done to facilitate change,” he challenged the audience, “to create personal action plans; to seek out information.”