MLK Week – Exploring the Intersection of Conflict and Culture presented by Dr. Jen Fry
In one of my previous blogs, To Be Heard, inspired by Shanee Stepakoff’s Testimony, I wrote:
“To be heard, there needs to be a speaker, a committed listener (depending on roles performed), and a common language.”
The language used in Dr. Jen Fry’s talk was common—not just because we spoke English, but because the language we spoke was confrontation. This time I was ready to hear it. Confronting the choices we make and why we make them. Asking ourselves: What are we running from? When did it become unsafe to face it? And when given the choice—do we confront, or do we let it slide?
I invite you to listen. Block out all the noise! Listen to the stories you tell yourself.
Language is one of our primary ways of expressing ourselves. Not just the common: English, Spanish, French, or your mother tongue. However, the ways we express ourselves is more than just what we say—it’s also what we don’t say. It’s the things that slip out beyond our control, the slides we intended to use but skipped over because we ran out of time. It’s the slight smiles, the eye rolls, the shifting of weight when we grow tired—silent but loud cues that tell their own story.
But what struck me most wasn’t just what was said. It was what Dr. Jen Fry intended to talk about—but didn’t.
That caught my attention, because it’s something people always tell me I need to learn: how to navigate what is left unsaid.
In a fleeting moment, I glimpsed a slide in passing. A question she didn’t get to ask aloud:
Why are you scared of your own voice?
A question that lingers.
This is just the beginning. Stay tuned for the Griot Series on Decolonial Education—a journey of healing from the institutions that have shaped us.
Brace yourself. It’s time to reclaim our voices.
~ Holiness Kerandi ’26