>> Good evening, everyone. The program will begin in ten minutes. Please make your way to the ballroom. Good evening, everyone, please make your way to the theater. The program will begin in five minutes.
>> Good evening, I know it's late, but it's not nearly as late for you as it is for me, good evening.
>> Good evening.
>> Yes, all right. Friends, staff and faculty members, students, our honorees and their special guests, it is my distinct pleasure and honor to welcome you to the office of Diversity and Inclusions Hall of Fame awards celebration. I'm Tracy Townsend of WBNS 10 TV, where I do the morning news, and I will see you tomorrow morning at 4:25.
So, I am really excited to share this special evening with you and serve as your mc because I am a proud graduate of the Ohio State University.
>> And I am here tonight because I support the critical justice and equity work being done on this campus. While this is the third hall of fame ceremony for ODI, this is the first year, as many of you know, we've been able to do this in person, and it looks like you all had a good time out there and you are in for such a wonderful evening.
This is a hybrid event, so we do have some folks who are joining us virtually from all across the country, so we say hello to you, a big Ohio to you. Wherever you are know that we are certainly glad that you are joining us this evening as we toast our honorees.
We do come together this evening to celebrate four icons of diversity and inclusion who are taking their rightful place alongside such past hall of fame honorees like the OSU 34, Doctor Frank Hale Junior, Ruth Ella Moore, Jesse Owens, Monica Ramirez, and Judge Robert Duncan. Three of our honorees either taught or worked at Ohio State, doctor William Holloway, Dean Minnie McGee, and Rhonda Rivera, while the fourth honoree attended this university, Senator Charleta Tavares.
The late Doctor Holloway essentially created the blueprint for ODI at this very university as the very first vice provost of the then office of Minority Affairs. Side note, I remember when it was called that, Dean McGee. We lift up her for her impact on thousands of engineering students from historically underrepresented groups as part of a four decade career in Ohio State's engineering department.
Rhonda Rivera, a longtime law professor, is being honored for her tenacity and talent in building the state's premier gay and lesbian lobbying organization, the Stonewall Union, now simply known as Stonewall, and for fiercely fighting for equal rights for persons of all sexual orientations. Meantime, Senator Tavares has a long and impressive career in both elective office and advocacy work.
Having crafted important legislation touching on critical health and safety issues, particularly for women and children across Columbus and our great state of Ohio. Tonight, friends, is a night to give these folks their flowers and to reflect on the contributions they have made, which we are going to build on today in seeking a more just and empathetic society.
Now to our new hall of Famers, we will turn to a pair of dynamic spoken word artists to perform special pieces that really spotlight the powerful legacies of this quartet. We are also tonight going to hear from. Some of the nominees themselves and their relatives, as well as from a number of people whose lives have been directly touched by their work.
First, I'd like to introduce two women who are part of a new generation of university leadership focused on bringing greater justice and equity to our institution. Our next speaker is Yolanda Zepeda, the Interim Vice Provost of the Office of Diversity inclusion. And after we hear from Yolanda, she's going to turn things over to Doctor Wendy Smooth, the Senior Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence at our beloved institution.
We start with Yolanda Zepeda.
>> Thank you for that introduction, Tracy. What a special night this is for all of us. For more than a half century, our office has been proud to work shoulder to shoulder with stalwart allies, to eliminate barriers, to shatter stereotypes, and to empower students, faculty, and staff from all work walks of life to flourish.
We gather tonight to honor four of the greats in the diversity, equity and inclusion space who have fought battles with us and have paved the way for us and the work that we continue to do every day at this university. I believe with all my heart that in this life, all of us stand on the shoulders of giants in our families, in our communities, and in our workplaces.
Our four honorees tonight, William Holloway, Minnie McGee, Rhonda Rivera, and Charleta Tavares, are each towering figures in their own right. And they all have more in common than just being a part of the 2023 Hall of Fame class. All of our honorees have worked within entrenched public institutions to create lasting change.
For Doctor Holloway and Dean Minnie McGee, that public institution was our very own beloved enterprise, the Ohio State University. Doctor Holloway was leading our office on day one in 1970 when he launched what was then called the Office of Minority affairs. And he really created the blueprint for effective advocacy and equity on behalf of diverse students that we are still working from today.
He laid that foundation that we've built upon now for generations. In her own corner of the Scarlet & Gray world, Dean McGee was equally effective as she created programs, recruited students, advocated for underrepresented student populations in our engineering departments. She was, as one of her former students put it, the wind in his sails that allowed him to travel so far in his life and career.
For former state senator Charleta Tavares, the platform was our political institutions, both at the local and statewide level. During a decades long political career, she has blazed a trail as part of a new generation of black women determined to bring their voices and perspectives, objectives to the public policy arena.
And for Rhonda Rivera, the Ohio state law professor, the institution was also our electoral politics. But rather than run for office, Rivera played the outsider's game as she built a potent advocacy organization that effectively lobbied for equal rights for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. All four of these individuals realized, in their own way, that only by challenging institutions to be more open and responsive could they move the needle and make a difference on the issues that they cared about.
Because the world is far from perfect and the work that we do can be exhausting and seemingly endless, we sometimes forget how far we've come as a society, but not tonight. Tonight is a time for remembering, for recalling the hard won battles fought at this university and elsewhere that make a difference.
Battles that opened the doors that had been closed, and in doing so, brought greater justice and equality to our society. We remember tonight because these individuals and their stories are part of the legacy that we carry with us every day when we walk into the halls of Hale hall.
We remember tonight so that we remember always how we got from where we were to where we are now. We remember tonight because where we are going in the future began with these folks and others just like them. I am glad that you are all here tonight to remember with us on this very special occasion, thank you.
I'd like to next welcome a key member of the university's DEI team, the Senior Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence, Doctor Wendy Smooth.
>> Good evening, everyone, and thank you, Yolanda, for those beautiful, beautiful remarks. I am so proud to be here tonight to join my ODI office of Diversity and Inclusion colleagues to celebrate the legacies of this special quartet of honorees.
Our honorees tonight put a human face on a concept that we talk about a lot at the university, the idea of inclusive excellence. I'd like to talk a little bit about what that concept means and how the university is building a dynamic culture of inclusive excellence on the foundation laid by the iconic class of honorees and those like them who came before.
Here at the Ohio State University, we know that we can't be excellent, excellent without cultural diversity, diversity of thought, diversity of ideas, with people from all backgrounds coming together to learn and to grow. We also know that coming together as a diverse group is not enough. It is important to feel a sense of inclusion around that experience and a sense of belonging.
Here at the Ohio State University, we are motivated by the science of belonging. It teaches us that when we have great teams, great diverse teams, we are better problem solvers. We know we can only solve our greatest problems confronting us by bringing everyone to the table with equitable voices.
When we expand the conversation, the solutions to the problems we face become more innovative and more dynamic. Trying to gauge how well we are developing a culture of inclusive excellence at this university, this vast university is a top priority. Yet.
>> But it's challenging. It's hard to capture what it means in a complex institution like Ohio State.
But this spring, we've launched the Inclusive Futures Project, a culture building event. Where we are starting with conversations across our academic units on what it means to belong at a university. And most importantly, what are the things we can do in this moment do today in order to move our campus towards an even more inclusive future?
We will continue hosting these conversations across the summer with faculty and staff, and in the fall we will continue the conversations with our students. This is the first of many activities we will do to assess our campus culture and to listen to and co create with our faculty, staff and students a more inclusive Ohio State.
Just as important as finding the way forward is figuring out how to turn ideas into action, something our four honorees have had a knack for doing their entire careers. We are also leveraging our resources by thinking across offices here at the Ohio State University, that all offer a bit of the piece of the puzzle towards building a more inclusive campus.
Through my office, we are harnessing the collective power and expertise of our office of Institutional Equity, the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, and of course, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The Office of Institutional Equity has the most clearly defined role of the three.
That's our office that responds to complaints of harassment and discrimination, and it covers ADA, Title IX, equal employment opportunity issues and the protection of minors. They are like the instrument panel on the car that monitors how much gas you have left, what the tire pressure is like and how much motor oil is needed.
I have a flashing light right now.
>> It's true. ODI's role has been to serve as a pivotal access point and pipeline for students, ensuring that there is a sense of belonging for students, faculty and staff. In recent years, ODI has also begun to set up our students for future success by helping them find placement in the workforce.
And helped our workplace culture improve through trainings and educational seminars aimed at infusing diversity and inclusion into our many workplaces across central Ohio. The third leg of our inclusive excellence stool is the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, it's our research and engagement piece of the puzzle.
As a land grant institution, we are charged with solving problems and working with others to come up with the best answers and solutions. The Kirwan Institute can be thought of as the heart of finding solutions through intersectionality research that seeks to answer real world questions and moves us towards solving 21st century problems that plague our society.
You see, our collective goal is to move people, programs and policy out of the silos across the university into a sharp sense of working together across our different units with greater fluidity and purpose. And while these units will lead the way for our inclusive excellence efforts at the university, make no mistake, we'll need a commitment from every corner of our educational enterprise to make our efforts work.
The work we will do to build a more inclusive Ohio State will come forth when we are working together to co create the university where all can thrive. When I think of great partners that we need in the days ahead, I think to our honorees and what they have brought to the university over the years.
I think of Dean Minnie McGee and the important work she did for decades in the School of Engineering, opening doors for others, smoothing the way for students. Acting as a role model as she was swimming upstream in one of the most tradition bound and least diverse fields in the country.
We need Dean Minnie McGees in every college and every school at the university. And we also need more Rhonda Rivera's, finding ways to build coalitions both inside and outside the university to bring systemic changes, and to bring changes to places where people needed to connect their hearts and their minds in greater effort for greater efforts of good.
We need more Doctor William Holloways, building new programs and fighting administrative battles to carve out space for diversity, equity and inclusion work. And today we need those kinds of architects who can build stronger and more resilient opportunities for diversity, equity and inclusion in our current culture. And we need to turn more students into students like Senator Charlita Tavares, who can make the lessons that they have learned to in the classroom build on them so persuasively that you change and create an indelible imprint on the citizens of Ohio.
And you live the motto of education for citizenship. As I leave you tonight, I would like to say something about the bigger role we are playing at the university. Our top priority should always be to serve our students and prepare them for the world outside of the classroom walls.
We serve them best through having diverse and inclusive university learning spaces inside and outside the classroom. When students from all walks of life are working together in laboratories or designing products together, debating in the hale center or working together in service to the community and imagining new yet undiscovered solutions to wicked, complex problems, we are at our very best as a university.
We create the space to grow our future leaders and just the type of workforce Ohio needs to push our economy forward. Students accustomed to working in diverse groups who understand that a variety of backgrounds and experiences can lead to different ways of seeing problems and solving problems that are so much further ahead.
That's what we need in our workplaces today, and it will make the future brighter for all Ohioans. Tonight, I have the pleasure of just saluting our honorees. Dr. Holloway, Dean McGee, Esquire Rivera, Senator Tavares, for all that you have done to create this space around diversity, equity and inclusion, we humbly thank you.
Your legacies challenge us and inspire us to push onward towards greater success in all the work that we do. Thank you for your time and attention tonight and let's celebrate.
>> Please welcome back to the stage Tracy Townsend.
>> To follow Dr. Smooth, can we give a round of applause?
That was great remarks.
>> Very uplifting. As our Hall of Fame program continues, we are going to turn next to local spoken word artist Javier Sanchez, who has written a piece spotlighting the passion and compassion of two of our honorees, Dean Minnie McGee and Senator Charleta Tavares. After Javier's performance, we will hear from Dean McGee alongside her daughter, Buffy Patterson, and then Senator Charleta Tavares.
Javier, the stage is yours.
>> I'm honored and humbled to be here to celebrate you all. This is a special night for me and I'm so thankful that I get to be in this space. I have a connection to both of you all dear friends with Buffy Patterson, Minnie McGee's daughter.
And I've known Charleta Tavares for many years. She's been a hero of mine, she's been a mentor, I would say, and she has been there for me professionally and personally. And, shit, oops, sorry.
>> She's been there for my, for my family at, I don't even want less, never mind.
I'm gonna send you a voicemail, I'll leave it on a voicemail
>> Cuz it'll be a mess if I try to. She's been there for my family at our darkest times. And in that way, she's been an auntie, and she had to almost kick one of her nephew's ass last summer, not mine, but anyways, well, thank you.
>> If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound? Yes, because the gods heard it. And if an act of service is done off the clock, out of sight, without rewards, without accolades, without attention or social media likes, did it make an impact?
Yes, because the gods saw it. And the gods saw fit to drop two beautiful pebbles into our pond. Charleta Tavares, Minnie McGee, have created ripples of hope that have touched countless lives and yet made each and every life feel like they were the primary one. With clarity and sincerity, they have recognized the severity of health, economic and educational disparities.
And the glaringly obvious danger of the underserved feeling like the services they are served are undeserved charity. Their view from the trenches have imbued them with senses of urgency, empathy, respect and expectancy, passion and compassion. When people see them coming, they say, here comes passion, but we celebrate our pebbles because with their passion and compassion comes action.
For true impact, go ahead.
>> For true impact and traction, what actually needs to happen is for our community jewels to be given the tools to overcome the struggles with which they're grappling. And that's where our beautiful pebbles come in. But understand that them entering into our pond as pebbles was only a preface to when they would ascend into gems, and to that end, their transcendence is what we're here to commend.
The bend towards justice by the arc of the moral universe does not happen inevitably or accidentally. The bend is caused because of those who are committed to the cause, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally by those who understand that change happens intentionally. By those who know that change is not something we're only meant to do, but also something we're meant to be.
Access is what we all deserve, opportunity is what we're all meant to see. So the work continues with the unwavering belief that change happens slowly, incrementally, but, thankfully, eventually.
>> Charleta Tavares, Minnie McGee are two beautiful gems that deserve beautiful hymns, praise for where they've gone in celebration for where they've been.
You are not hidden figures, we see you.
>> We see you and we recognize your value, and we're thankful that you have created ripples of hope that will continue to continue to continue to continue. And we're grateful that you continue to be who you are and you continue to do what you do.
We are a better world because of you. We are a better country because of you. We are a better community because of you. We are better people because of you. I am a better person because of you and you, and we're thankful for you.
>> To whom much is given, much shall be required.
More than just a biblical verse to Dean Minnie McGee, the line was a mantra the longtime assistant dean of the Minorities Engineering Program, or MEP, preached to her young charges for four decades as she steered generations of students through the demanding major. Former students said it was all part of McGee's secret sauce for student success.
A caring and nurturing nature paired with lofty expectations that they would flourish in a field traditionally dominated by white males. Cullen Bewie, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, said the combination inspired him and other historically underrepresented students during his time in the early 2000s. Her attitude was, I'm gonna give you the support you need, we're gonna have programs and resources and community, he said, and I expect you to do your best.
She cared, but she had very high standards, I think that's a nice mix that inspires you to do more. Former students said the Mississippi natives open door policy and personal involvement in their lives were the keys that unlocked new heights. When you have someone who is caring about you to that level, you don't wanna disappoint them, said Herb Robinson, an engineering student when McGee arrived in the Department of Engineering in 1976.
If Dean McGee had not been in my corner, I would not have been as successful as I've been in my career, she instilled in me a desire to do my best. While McGee was warm and caring, she could be steely with students who needed to turn things around.
Phil Fayre, a 1977 mechanical engineering graduate, recalled McGee giving him a stern lecture when his grades dipped after he put socializing ahead of schoolwork. Dean McGee gave me a real emphasis on the fact that there's not many blacks in engineering. And what I'm doing would impact people that came behind me he said, I was a better student from that point forward.
While McGee cajoled students into doing their best, she also built an infrastructure to help them succeed with her innovative preface bridge program. That combined enrichment classes, internships and mentoring to give students a leg up. Preface was a great program to help people get acclimated and to hopefully succeed in their freshman year, said Tim Pinkston.
A 1985 graduate who is the vice dean of engineering at the University of Southern California. It helped me gain confidence and it helped me network with people who might make good study partners. Magee also preached community building over the years as she partnered with students to establish a National Society of Black Engineers chapter.
As well as an engineering honor society for underrepresented students. While Magee's rapport with students was undeniable, she was also a strategic thinker who fought battles within the Department of Engineering to keep the programs she created afloat. She did a lot of things behind the scenes for students and advocating for black faculty and staff, said Felicia Sawyer, a 1993 and 1996 engineering graduate who worked alongside McGee.
At times she was close to losing her job from riling up folks, but she was always willing to stand up for what's right. McGee's presence also extended onto the national level, where she served for many years on the board of the National Consortium. For graduate degrees for minorities in engineering and science incorporated.
She brought an understanding of students and how to make programs work for students on campus, said Howard Adams, the longtime executive director of a portable scholarship program. Pinkston, the Southern California vice dean, called McGhee the epitome of what all Buckeye employees and alumni should strive to be. Shes just an outstanding human being to do the things she did for the population she was given responsibility over, he said.
She was passionate about people being successful, she had a sense of equality and justice in the broadest sense of things.
>> Minnie dedicated her life to providing access and opportunity to students. For 40 years, she served as assistant dean of the College of Engineering and director of the minority engineering program at Ohio State.
During her tenure, she helped countless students reach and exceed their potential. She also raised millions of dollars for scholarships and program support. Her impact is abundantly evident in the Buckeye engineers she encouraged, mentored and inspired.
>> Former assistant Dean Minnie McGee has been a transformative force of nature at Ohio State.
She's a real life hero who has indelibly inspired and motivated all who have been touched by her, propelling them to strive for excellence and high achievement in all things. Congratulations, Dean McGee, and may your legacy live on well into the future.
>> Dean McGee, what an honor it is for me to be able to sit here today to say congratulations, to say I love you.
We do miss you in the office and we miss your yellow couch to sit on and to get good counsel from. You had an impact Dean McGee, on me personally, you had an impact on our engineering students. You had an impact that will forever leave a positive footprint on Ohio State, the community and our nation.
Dean McGee, you change lives and we're rooted in excellence and we will all forever be grateful.
>> Congratulations, Dean McGee, my name is Nina Moore and we've never met, but I am a 2021 alum and you have impacted my life very greatly. From preface 2017 to being inducted into Lambda Sci in 2019 to even just how highly Doctor Parker.
And Doctor Lee and Miss Barclay and the whole DOI staff speak of you just all your programs and your efforts for minority students.
>> Your programs have been instrumental in my development and my feeling of wholeness in the community within the MEP program. While I'm nearing the graduation of my own degree, I just want to say that your efforts and your contributions have not been in doubt.
And they have gone on and will continue to go on to impact people like me I just wanted congratulations for this award. Please welcome 2023 honoring Minnie M McGee, joined by her daughter, Buffy Patterson.
>> All right, good evening, can everyone hear me? I'm Buffy McGee Patterson and I am the daughter of tonight's honoree, who most of you know as Dean McGee, but who I know as mom.
So first of all, I wanna thank you for giving my mother her flowers while she's still alive. So I've heard from so many of her former students, colleagues, and initially I had planned to share their words. But there was such an outpouring of support, I decided not to because I do not want to leave anyone out.
And so I do want everyone to know cause I have literally a binder this thick of emails, texts and messages that were sent to me from my mother's former students. And so we are going to compile a book to include all of those things, in addition to photos that were sent from those individuals.
And I just wanted to let those of you who did share know that you are contributing to hours of what will be storytelling, laughter, and in some cases, tears. So I'm going to share one of my mother's favorite scriptures. It was spoken previously, and if you spent any time with her, she has said it to you.
It's Luke 12:48, to whom much is given, much is required. I'm about to start crying. So, just a little bit of background. My parents, who will be married 58 years this year,
>> Met at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. And so my mother is the eldest of five children.
And so whatever you can imagine about growing up in rural Mississippi in the 1940s, through the 1960s, she experienced. Her family couldn't afford to send her to college, and so she earned academic scholarships through graduation, through her undergraduate work. And back then, believe it or not, she couldn't be an engineer, right?
She double-majored in mathematics and chemistry, and my dad actually in math and biology. And so I'm sure y'all can imagine being raised by two mathematicians. And yes, I did have an advocacy as a child, and I am not joking, I really did. But I'm sharing this because my mother spent over 40 years ensuring that minority students had access to programming, funding, and support that would not only impact their lives, but the lives of their future generations.
And that wasn't just at the college level, but middle school and high school as well. I mean, honestly, my mom would just grab up anybody's kid, seriously, and teach them math. Like, hey, come here, I'm teach you something, right? She's been the driving force behind so many, so many people obtaining their undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees, not just in engineering, but in many other fields.
Birth many doctors, birth many attorneys, business. Like anything you can imagine, my mom was gonna push you to do it and to do it well. And as you saw from some of the folks who spoke, many educators as well, which is awesome. And so this takes me back to her favorite scripture.
So I can stand here as a grown woman today and say that whatever my mother has been given, she has multiplied it 100,000 fold. And whatever she has labored for, she has shared the fruit of. So I just wanna encourage each of you to do the same, and if you're already doing it, continue to do so.
There is not enough time to share all the things that I could share or say all of the things that I could say about my amazing mother and your Dean McGee. Mom, your entire family across the country is watching you be honored this evening via live stream and they want you to know how proud they are of you.
The view, that's my dad sitting over there. And Naka, that's my sister, she's in Texas. And I thank you for being the blessing that you've been in our lives.
>> Thank you.
>> Yes, and I wanna give just a special shout out to Felicia Sawyer, who's here, Judy Wright, who's here, and also Ernest Levers Senior.
And to mention one of my mom's dearest friends and colleagues, Ruby Smith, who passed away two years ago. It's so heartbreaking that she's not here to share in this moment. And so just thank you again to the Ohio State University Office of Diversity and Inclusion for recognizing the dedication and commitment of what the young people call a real one.
So thank you, everybody. Did you wanna say anything?
>> Thank you so kindly. But some of the younger people might find I have spent all these years since I left the university figuring out the best ways to get the hardest homework that you'll ever see. Thank you, thank you.
I think I was blessed to have not only the College of Engineering, but two children who came along about the same time frame. And they didn't just have to look at and see the reality of what we were trying to do, they had to participate. And to this day, they are participating.
And if they aren't, if you see anybody that look like me, don't help them out. This university has been amazing for me, it has been a blessing for me. And it has been a blessing because so many people that I tried to help, I didn't wake up every morning knowing I need to tell little John here just this, and that'll get him over the hall.
Didn't happen that way. I didn't tell Lisa that, and she would just find a way. But they found the way with little encouragement. And, by the way, they realized I was gonna check, you know what I'm saying? Today is Monday, come back here on Wednesday morning, we're going to talk.
That's true, and they did. But I can believe, I can personally assure the Ohio State University's College of Engineering that they have reached some of the goals that they have enjoyed with the offspring from parents. Some of the parents that might be sitting here in this room tonight, we didn't give up.
We did not settle for second best, we didn't do it. You got this, why did it start right here? Let's go, this isn't gonna work, get over there. I know, doctor. Go tell them you want to take that test, too. What, and they did. And they are not the only ones.
So many of our people needed just the expectation and a little push now and then, and we have done that. Thank you so kindly. And I need not say that this is my pride and joy.
>> Thank you so much.
>> That's because you finally learned how to cook a biscuit.
>> Dean McGee, I think we're gonna take a picture up here. This is your award.
>> Thank you.
>> You're very welcome, one step to the side.
>> Of course, we're gonna.
>> I'll hold it.
>> You gonna-
>> This way. After a year at Spelman College, 19-year-old Charlita B Tavares was homesick and headed back home to Columbus with dreams of studying at the Ohio State University to someday become a doctor.
But a fatal heart attack suffered by Tavares father at age 48 and the subsequent mental health struggles of her older brother scrambled her plans, setting her on a different course as a healthcare advocate and public policy maker. That's why I focused so much of my career on mental health disorders, substance use disorders, smoking cessation and clean air ordinances, because of what happened in my family, said Tavares, CEO of Primary One Health, a healthcare provider speaking more than four decades after her life was upended.
It really opened my eyes that there are other ways that you can do things for people who need services and health care without being the practitioner. While studying at Ohio State, Tavares took a high-profile volunteer job as secretary of the local NAACP chapter, before teaming up to work as an unpaid legislative aide to then-state representative Ray Miller of Columbus.
As life happened, in Tavares words, and her days got increasingly busy, she withdrew from Ohio State before earning her degree, a decision she now regrets. Do I still think there's an opportunity? Probably. I don't have the time right now that I would need to focus. But is it still a goal?
Absolutely. Nevertheless, Tavares said her time at Ohio State helped shape her worldview. The university helps to shape you in what kind of student you want to be and what kind of community representative you want to be, she said. Finding ways to serve others has been the common thread that connects Tavares work as a lawmaker, public policy advocate and nonprofit healthcare leader.
She says all of her efforts have been an attempt to move the needle for society's most vulnerable and overlooked communities. A lot of what I've done throughout my life has been focused on helping people and helping marginalized communities with basic needs, whether you are talking about social determinants of health or just talking about healthcare that ensures that people have their basic needs met, Tavares said.
If you're not healthy, you're not ready to learn and you're not ready to earn. With a long career in elected office as a Columbus city council member and state lawmaker, Tavares views governmental work as an avenue for improving public policy that positively impacts lives. Public service done in the right way is a lot like social work, she said.
You help people with their individual problems, neighborhood problems, statewide problems, depending on what level of public service you're in. Tavares said she's proud to have enacted important legislation at both the local and state level, such as the 2004 Smoke-Free Indoor Air Act passed while she was on Columbus City Council, and a bipartisan infant mortality prevention bill, that passed while she was in the Ohio Senate in 2016.
At the time of passage, Ohio was 46th in the nation for infant mortality and 50th for black babies who died at a rate triple that of white babies. I'm very proud of that infant mortality legislation because we are still working on those efforts today, she said. Outside of politics, Tavares also made important civic contributions by founding the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation alongside her mother, after the death of her brother from suicide in 1993, and beginning the first children's protection section at the Ohio Attorney General's office.
As she looks back on her storied political career, Tavares is proud to have broken new ground as the first Democrat woman ever elected from Franklin County to the Ohio House and Senate, the first black woman to hold a leadership position in the history of the Ohio legislature and the first Democrat woman to hold a leadership position in both the House and Senate.
I'm sad it took so long and I really hope that more young women will go into politics, Tavares said. It's gotten very ugly, but their voices are very much needed.
>> Good afternoon. My name is Dawn Tyler Lee and I'm a proud graduate of the Charlita Bel Tavares School of Public Service and servant Leadership.
You might be thinking to yourself, I've never heard of that school before. Well, that's the school you attend when you are a staff person, for Charlita Tavares. I was honored to serve as her legislative aide from roughly 1999 to 2002, and the lessons that I learned just by being with her day in and day out as she served the residents of Columbus.
Truly invaluable. I am forever grateful to Charlita for all that she poured into me as an employee and what she continues to pour into me as a friend and as a mentor. Congratulations on your award. There is no one more deserving.
>> I enjoyed her work directly with me as my legislative aide.
She is tenacious, she is very bright and certainly knows what to do when she has a position of influence to deliver services and needs and opportunities to those in our community who look to her for leadership, to look to elected officials and members of the House and the Senate and the city council, all of those places where she served.
>> In her time in the Ohio General Assembly, she broke down barriers. And she continues to be an amazing example for our staff and everyone that knows her. Charlita has committed herself and our organization to important advocacy work on the local, state, and federal levels, fighting for health equity for the medically underserved.
She pushes our organization to be the best it possibly can be, realizing our vision of quality care for all.
>> It is just such an honor and a pleasure to be able to speak and support her during this time. I've seen her passion for health equity within primary one health and her passion for health equity and the Columbus community during her role as a senator.
And I can say that I don't know anyone who is a larger advocate, a more impactful advocate, as Senator Charlita Tavares has been for the community. I am so honored to be able to extend to you this congratulations and from us to you, I will say thank you.
We appreciate everything that you are and everything that you do. Congratulations. Please welcome 2023 Honoree, the Honorable Charlita B Tavarez. Thank you all. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. This is such an honor. I am so, so very honored and proud to receive this award tonight. And I'm in awe of the other awardees.
I am very much a fan of each and every one of you and the work that you've done in our community. I wanna thank Grace hall for nominating me. The young lady that talked about the work at primary one health, and certainly McKenna Hensley. That was a pleasant surprise, because McKenna, I remember when she was born.
Her dad replaced me as the legislative aide to then state representative Ray Miller, Mark Hensley. And so I've watched McKenna really grow and mature, and I'm so glad that she went into the Ohio State University and has her master's in public health. So, I'm very, very proud of her.
I also wanna thank my family who are here tonight, my brother Eddie and his wife Pam. One of my friends. And I share this with young people all the time. You really have to pay attention to your friends. You have to have those people that you have a safe space to share and to let go with.
And people who will check you when you're not doing what you're supposed to do. So, one of my friends is here. We went to junior high together and high school together, Melanie Ferguson. And then my mentor, my political mentor, my friend. And he still has me as a staff person writing for the Columbus Dayton African American News Journal.
Publisher now, but former senator Raydhe Miller, who is here.
>> And I wanna thank my team members. None of us do what we do without a strong team. My senior leadership team is diverse. Each of them with their own skill sets, with their own perspectives. And that's what you need.
As miss as doctor Smooth said. I love saying her name, but I have them with me. I have Nicole Gomez, who is our chief patient experience officer. I have DeWitt Harold, who is our chief financial officer. Doctor Jeff Maribel, who is our chief clinical officer. And Andrea Wilson, who is our chief community services officer, who's here with me.
And then our communications and marketing director, Susan Brewer. I wanna thank them for being here. It really does take a team. You can't do any of the work that you're doing without a strong team. And Javier, you brought me to tears. It was a beautiful, beautiful spoken word.
And we share a lot in common with respect to mental health issues with family members. The suicide prevention foundation is very, very important to me, because we have too many people disproportionately African Americans. A growing number of African Americans who are taking their lives. And so we've got to do more in that arena.
Doctors, Smooth and Zapeda, thank you both very, very much to the Ohio State University. Thank you for all that you're doing in the area of diversity, equity and inclusion. And as we talk about diversity, equity, inclusion. I can't leave without talking about one of my positions that I enjoyed the most, and that was with a the multiethnic advocates for cultural competence.
A statewide organization that really works to infuse cultural and linguistic competence into service and care providers. To make sure that if you say you wanna treat somebody, you wanna care for somebody, that you know who they are? You know something about their background, their language. And that you're providing appropriate services, not just the same services.
And then to reinforce that, those of us who are in a position to make some changes. We have to focus in on what is right, what is just? What is equitable, and what is fair? And I want each and every one of you to think about that each and every day when you go into your place of work, worship, or school.
We've got to keep asking ourselves if we're doing what is right, fair, just and equitable? Thank you so very much.
>> Thank you for your words, Senator Tavarez. What a wonderful legacy for all of our honorees that they are leaving for future generations. This evening and up next, we're going to hear from a second spoken word artist, Karen Marie, who graduated in 2014.
Her work focuses on the life and times of Doctor Holloway and Rhonda Rivera. And how we can all carry the torch forward that they have held aloft for so long. After Karen's performance, we will hear from doctor Holloway's granddaughter, Beverly Lee, as well as Miss Rivera. Karen Marie, I turn things over to you.
>> I believe I have permission to cuss, but I don't think I'll take it.
>> I am a 2014 graduate of the College of Education and Human ecology here at the Ohio State. And as a undergrad, I was a math major. So, you can start to see the synergies happening here with all of the awardees tonight.
And I am so honored to be here and to be chosen in this way. Rhonda, you may not know me yet. But, your legacy is alive and well in Ohio. And I've enjoyed learning about you through all the people that you know. And I will tell you about later, after this.
And then I got to speak with Doctor Holloway's granddaughter, Beverly, and you'll hear from her tonight. But, just learning about all the ways as an educator personally as someone who works in the DEI field. And as someone who is at the intersection of black queer and transness, finding ways to connect and be in right relationship with everyone.
So, thank you for your inspiration for this poem tonight. No one ever finds life worth living. One always has to make it worth living. Doctor William J Holloway's mother would remind him. He remembered this he pursued the answer to making his life worth living. Pursuing knowledge from Virginia to Michigan, Massachusetts to Illinois.
Georgia to North Carolina, back to Virginia to Washington and then Ohio. Sometimes. You have to go where the education is, go where the work is, go where the opportunities are, and make strategic noise. Lead with intention, build the relationships, find ways to pay it forward, and bring others with you.
Doctor Holloway would say, I'm not an activist, just an educator. Rhonda Rivera was similar in that she saw a need and she had tools to support and would just do what was needed in community. From sexual orientation law and creating community to supporting people with AIDS in their end of life and estate planning, she did what was necessary.
She knew that we had to include all of us in the movement, make space for all those whose love was now made political. Both were often the first in their roles. Both knew the value of strategy, community, relationship, love, giving back and family bloodline, or chosen. That to support the negro, the African American, the African, and their own access to opportunities meant we improved as a people, as a nation.
That to support the entire LGBTQ community meant healing and opportunity for us all. How do you define the value of lives offered in service? The ones who have gone before us left this earth fighting, learning, loving and hopeful for a change. How do you reconcile knowing that doctor Holloway was a pioneer and educator and seeing what is happening today?
What would he think of right now? Would he mark us as having progressed? How would he advise around making life worth living today? Rhonda, the matriarch of LGBT civil rights in Ohio, is here with us and watches the legal world fluctuate. She has seen marriage rights come to fruition and then LGBTQ+ rights come under attack again.
We must seek her wisdom as we continue the fight for equality. We imagine the complexity of all that can exist, doctor Holloway as ancestor and Rhonda as an elder. Rhonda Rivera, thank you for all your groundbreaking work. Your community mindset, your mentorship and guidance as we try to continue what you started.
Doctor Holloway, thank you for the legacy and word, and indeed who continue to carry the torch and tell your story. Thank you for sharing the answer to what makes life worth living. Life is worth living when its direction is high. Life is worth living when its quality is genuine.
Life is worth living when its spirit is contagious. Tonight, we honor you at every intersection. For every interaction we have heard about or read about, and all the ones we do not know about, for every win, for every struggle that turned into a lesson. We honor your contributions here.
Thank you for your creativity. Thank you for your spirit and energy. Thank you for your authenticity. Thank you for contagious spirits. We will carry the torch.
>> Born in 1917, into a large Virginia family where education was stressed. Doctor William J Holloway devoted himself to opening educational doors for the marginalized as a professor, government administrator and higher education leader.
Arriving in the fall of 1970 at the Ohio State University, Holloway was hired as the first vice provost of the office of Minority Affairs. Now, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. During a tumultuous time when student led protests against the Vietnam War had shut down Ohio state's campus that may.
Hired to placate black student activists demanding more people of color in key university roles, Holloway was left to his own devices to build his new office. After being given a welcome to the university by President Fawcett, I entered my office with three new pieces of furniture, a chair, a desk and a credenza, wrote Holloway in his 2001 autobiography, the odyssey of a north American educator.
I was on my own, and I began the task of developing programs to help bring stability on a campus of 45,000 students. As Holloway worked to get his new office up, he found a powerful friend in football, coach Woody Hayes, who quickly became a frequent dinner companion at the faculty club.
In mid December, Provost Robinson brought me a check for $500 from coach Hayes, stating that I could use it for things and or services that are not provided for by the university, wrote Holloway in his memoir. This show of faith at the beginning of my work was deeply appreciated.
Holloway constructed a blueprint for his new office by recruiting minority students, developing programs to support their needs, offering vocational guidance. And setting up programs for supplemental instruction and tutoring to keep students on track. With skeptics on all sides, Holloway had to navigate some tricky politics to set his plans into motion.
He was the right person for the hour, said Mac Stewart, a black administrator who worked alongside Holloway and eventually followed in his footsteps as vice provost. He could be forceful and he could be kind. He was mainly the right person around the table who could get the deals done.
He received pushback from white people and black people as well, who are more radical, said Holloways granddaughter, Beverly. He wasn't really hung up on it. He wasn't going to let it intimidate him to the point where he stopped. A 2010 graduate of Ohio State, Beverly said her grandfather was thrilled to pay her college acceptance fee after having worked an entire summer to pay back a loan from a family friend so he could attend Hampton College.
It was a really big deal for him to pay my acceptance fee because he had such a hard time going to college and getting the funds, she said. While Holloway's crowning achievement was his work establishing the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, then the Office of Minority Affairs. He also helped desegregate schools as an administrator for six years with the US Department of Education.
Served five years as the superintendent of the Virginia State School for the Colored, Deaf, and Blind. And set up an international pipeline program that helped nearly 200 Nigerians get teaching degrees. He stood for everyone having the ability to receive a quality education, not just minorities and women, but people with disabilities and others who were discriminated against, said his granddaughter.
In 1978, as Holloway stepped down from his position leading the office that would become ODI, he summed up the moral power of the unit he had created. It is the keeper of the university's conscience, a motivating force for righteousness and fair play. And an ever present reminder that justice is an imperishable commodity and lies at the very core of our way of life.
On November 12, 2006, doctor Holloway died in his sleep in Chevy Chase, Maryland. At the time, Doctor William J Holloway orchestrated a sit down strike, his senior year at Hampton Institute, now Hampton University. To the strikes of the deadly spring of 1970 that led to the closing of the Ohio State University and to the hiring of my grandfather.
Doctor Holloway dedicated his life fighting for equity in academia, but his impact was not limited to the United States. He created the Nigerian education program that afforded nearly 200 Nigerian teachers to get their degrees. And he traveled around the world as a lecturer, leaving behind the OMA newsletter everywhere he went.
You see, Doctor Holloway created the culture that we celebrate today. And I can't wait for those of you who don't know him to get to know him. My guardian angel. Through his books, his speeches, as well as on the big screen.
>> He was a good listener, he was tactful, but most of all, he was visionary.
His work was impactful and transformative. He gave us a foundation which has endured over the years. When I walk across the oval and see the diversity of the students on the oval, I think of William Jimmerson Holloway. When I walked down the halls of the class of the classroom buildings and see the faculty, the students, and the staff, I thank William Jimmerson Holloway.
>> Doctor William Holloway was a visionary leader and passionate activist who dedicated his life to promoting social justice and advancing the cause of civil rights. Through his tireless efforts, he broke down barriers of discrimination and helped to create a more inclusive and equitable society. As a scholar and educator, Doctor Holloway made significant contributions to the field of African-American studies.
And his work on the history and culture of black Americans continues to inspire and inform scholars today. He has served as a mentor and role model to countless students, instilling in them a sense of purpose and commitment and making a positive difference in the world. Doctor Holloway's activism extended beyond the classroom, as he was a vocal advocate for civil rights and worked to mobilize communities around issues of social justice.
In recognition of his many accomplishments and contributions, Doctor William Holloway remains a beloved figure to all African-Americans and myself, especially as an inspiration to all and who serve to create a more ingest and equitable world.
>> Please welcome Beverly Holloway, granddaughter of 2023 Honoree doctor William J Holloway.
>> Hello, hello. Thank you, Karen, for that poem. That was beautiful. I want to thank the Ohio State and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for acknowledging my grandfather, his work, and inducting him into the hall of fame. I stand here representing his three children who are watching via livestream, my aunts, Arnett and Lynn Holloway, and my dad, Wendell Holloway.
Hopefully he's watching livestream. I'm typically the person to help him get the computer going, anything dealing with the computer or his phone, he always needs help. But the TV though, he has that like, down pack. Pretty sure he has it set to record the NFL draft that's coming on pretty shortly, so.
No, but he's got a chair on the Buckeye. See where they end up going, right? But Ohio State means a lot to our family. I stand here representing, I like to say three generations of Buckeyes. I call my grandfather an honorary Buckeye, even though he got his master's at a school that will remain nameless this evening.
But, my aunt got her journalism degree in 1975, and I graduated a little over a decade ago. So, I refuse to say I feel old, but Ohio State has just been woven throughout the fabric of our family. So the acknowledgement of my grandfather and this induction means more to my family than you guys will ever know.
So we thank you for that. If my grandfather were here, I know he would simply say that he couldn't do it alone. In fact, he didn't do it alone. In his memoir, he mentioned so many people that were instrumental in the creation of this department. And two, specifically two people that he spoke so very highly of that were very instrumental, were Doctor Frank Hale and Doctor William Nelson.
The three of them, or as he put it, the trio were really, they worked tirelessly to get the university more responsive to the needs, to the hope and the aspirations of blacks and minorities at the time. And so, it takes a team. It takes a team of people.
And as his friend, Coach Woody Hayes would say, you win with people, you win with people. And what I would say to that is, before you can even build a team, it takes one person to decide, make a decision, to be the change you want to see, regardless of the pushback, regardless of the resistance.
And President Fawcett, at the time, saw that in my grandfather in 1970, and allowed him to become the first vice provost of the minority affairs. So takes a team. And at the time, he was in his mid 50s, he was at the end of his career, and he was very passionate about building programs.
It was his purpose. And after his eight year tenure was up, he was ecstatic. He was excited to be able to pass the baton on to Doctor Hale, and then from Doctor Hale, eventually to Doctor Mack Stewart, who was the vice provost when I was in school. So, it's just been amazing to see now 50 years later, what it's become.
And I just want to personally thank everyone who's been a part of the department, everyone who's ever worked in the department. I personally want to thank you for being a part of what his legacy looks like on campus. And so, listening to the stories of my aunts and my dad talk about him, I could tell he was a really good father.
Personally, he was the best role model a dad could have, cuz my dad is literally the best dad anyone could ever have. I know if Doctor Holloway was here today and you were to ask him what he would be the most proud of, he would probably say his three children, his true legacy.
And this honor would probably be a close second. So, thank you.
>> Congratulations, Beverly, and to the family.
>> When Rhonda Rivera arrived at the Ohio State University in 1976, the world was far from welcoming to gay people. With the gay rights movement beginning to gain a toehold after the Stonewall riots in 1969, gays and lesbians in Ohio were routinely discriminated against in housing, public accommodations, marriage and employment.
And rarely spoken about above hushed tones in polite society. Recently divorced from her husband and waking up to her own sexuality as a lesbian, Rivera was only the second woman hired to teach at the university's Moritz College of Law. Rivera had moved to the front of the classroom out of necessity when she couldn't find work as a lawyer after graduating second in her class from Wayne State Law School.
It was a very discriminatory situation, she said. I would have liked to have gone into public service and been a public defender or a prosecutor, but there was no place for me to go. As Rivera settled into her teaching position, she found her gender to be the biggest hurdle to acceptance at Moritz.
Being a woman was more difficult than being gay, she said. No one ever said anything about my sexuality, but I got comment after comment about what my hair looked like or what I was wearing in class. In 1981, Rivera and a handful of other activists from the LGBTQ community held the first gay pride march to the Ohio State House and began a gay rights organization, Stonewall Union, to create community and push for equality.
When Rivera was president in 1984, the group had a high profile showdown at Columbus City Council with religious conservatives over whether gay people should be protected from discrimination in the workplace. While Stonewall lost that battle, Rivera was able to secure rights for gay people in state employment by spearheading a push for an executive order that was signed by then Governor Richard Celeste, as well as similar protections at Ohio State.
And in 1992, the employment protection measure was eventually passed by Columbus City Council. She won all the battles, and when it was all over, she was a shining star of the gay rights movement in Columbus, said Douglas Whaley, an Ohio state emeritus law professor who was also involved in Stonewall's early days.
If you were a gay person in the old days who lived in Ohio and you wanted legal protections, then you moved to Columbus. The reason for that was Rhonda Rivera. As Stonewall blossomed into Ohio's premier statewide gay organization. By utilizing Rivera's organizational and motivational talents, the group's board structure, ten men and ten women, was an important feature.
I was very interested in making sure men and women were equal and worked together, Rivera said. People have commented to me after the fact that in Columbus we were able to create a gay community with equality between men and women. As Rivera's activism helped find gay people more equal footing in Columbus, she also authored a groundbreaking 1979 law review article on the legal status of gay people in the United States.
Fellow law professor Whaley called the article the first step down the road to the Supreme Court's 2015 Obergfell decision granting gay people the right to marry. It built this huge legal place you could go to and get all of the information you wanted on gay people's status, Whaley said.
While the article helped Rivera secure a tenured position at Ohio State, her activism on behalf of gays and lesbians went largely ignored by the university. I didn't expect much support and I didn't get it, she said. But I had a naivete about it that was very helpful. Rivera said her work fighting for gay rights was sometimes lonely, but that her abiding belief that what she was doing was right helped her shoulder the burden.
My philosophy was always to tell the truth, said the New Mexico retiree. If it offends someone, then you do it gently and never, ever out anybody. That's for them to work on at their own pace. As the now 85 year old Rivera assesses the impact of her work, she said she's surprised how quickly some rights have been won, like marriage equality.
While fearful of a series of proposed anti-transgender legislation, as well as Florida's controversial don't say gay law. I worry about my grandsons. I worry that I'm leaving them climate change and fascism, she said.
>> So when I first interviewed first was asked to interview at Ohio State in 1987, some 35 years ago, I was told that Ohio State's law school was a gay rights school.
And that was because of Rhonda. That was because of the work that Rhonda had done in the area of sexual orientation and gender identity. It was recognition of all of her efforts on behalf of that community.
>> But Rhonda changed things not only in the law school but more broadly in the university.
I think it was her personality, the fact that she was upfront about things that she didn't take up from anybody. I mean, people saw that and that encouraged our students and encouraged our faculty on these issues.
>> Rhonda is a bully, and she took over for everything as the years went on and she bullied the faculty and the dean and the president of the university and the mayor and the governor.
And Stonewall Columbus got formed and I was on the original board and they said, do you think Rhonda Rivera would be interested? So I invited Rhonda to join. She took over Stonewall Columbus, and Rhonda started doing all kinds of things through the years. And when AIDS hit, she mobilized the lesbians and really came to help.
She is Wonder Woman. And I want to tell you that I'm recording this on Thursday, March 9, which is her 85th birthday. Well, she's Wonder Woman, and she is my wonder Woman. Rhonda, I adore you. Congratulations on this award. And of course, I will pick you up at the airport.
>> Rhonda, you are truly a trailblazer. I could go on and on citing your successes, contributions, and honors. Not only do you exemplify ODI's core values, you inspire others to do the same. We are incredibly proud to see you installed as one of Ohio state's legends in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
I know I speak for the entire Ohio State law community when I say congratulations. On this very well deserved honor.
>> Please welcome 2023 Honoree Rhonda R Rivera.
>> Thank you, I wanna pay a special thank you to Kimberly. It turns out that we're cousins. Her middle name is Rowe, and that's one of my family names from of Virginia.
And so we haven't figured out what number cousins we are, second and third, but we're definitely cousins. And thank you, Doug. I don't know what I would have done my life without him. He was already at Ohio State when I started there, and he protected me a lot and I appreciate that.
I wanna thank the office of diversity and inclusivity for honoring me this way. I'm an honored that you have chosen me. For about 10 years, I was the head of Stonewall Union. Now it's just Stonewall. And I started out with Doug asking me, and I said, there have to be 10 men and 10 women.
I'm not gonna be in an organization that doesn't represent women equally. And they agreed to that, but we needed the 10 women and the 10 men. So I didn't have too much trouble. I just said, look, it's really, really easy. I said, four meetings a year, not a big deal.
You can do it. A lot of people got angry about that because it turned out to be a lot more than four meetings a year. And the people who did things were really special. One of the first things I thought we needed was a booklet that would come out and list all the gay and the gay friendly organizations here in Columbus, so that people know where they can go and feel safe.
And so I turned to Pat Semmelmann and Freddie Wicks, who are here today. Where are you? Stand up I can't see a thing. Anyway, they produced a wonderful book and much better than I expected, and I expected a lot from them, but it turned out to be very valuable.
I didn't expect to cry, it's just so silly. And, of course, you met Doug Whaley, he's here. He's been my mentor, and I doubt if I would have really enjoyed being there without Doug. He got a perforated, I think, intestine or something terrible like that. And he was in the hospital for a long time, and I visited him every day in the hospital.
And so he decided I was an okay person.
>> I have also in the audience my lawyer. You say, well, why do you need a lawyer? Well, if you knew what I did, you knew I needed a lawyer. I wasn't threatened with guns, at least that I saw them the way you probably would be threatened now.
But people used to call me up and tell me they wanted me to die or I was sinful and I was about to go to hell, and that wasn't very pleasant. My lawyer is here is Sheila Clarke. She's very instrumental in the gay organization as well. One other couple is here, which is Joe and Leo.
Leo is the one that is the most tenacious person, not Leo, sorry, Joe. Who about religion, he stuck with his Catholic church way longer than most of us would.
>> I also would like to introduce you to the three men in my life. I'm a lesbian, and you say three men, but I have three men in my life.
I like them to stand up. My son, Robert Rivera.
>> My grandson, Nicholas Rivera.
>> You know, where he's gonna do. And my grandson, Lucas.
>> As you saw me trying to get up, I don't get up any very well, and I couldn't come here unless my son very kindly agreed to help me get here.
There's just one other thing I'd like to say, which is, I come from a white, upper middle class, educated family. It wasn't that whether I was going to college or not, it was which college I was going to. And what did I wanna be? Did I wanna be a teacher or a lawyer or whatever I wanted to be?
I came from a household who had, I was privileged, and I suspect that if I hadn't turned out to be gay, I would have been really, maybe snotty. I don't know what the word is, but being gay helped me understand what people go through and how important compassion is.
If I had to pick one thing that I thought was important in the human being and in our world, it's compassion, and that's what I learned. The AIDS situation also taught me that in more ways than one, I saw a young man die. I mean, really young men.
And it seemed so unfair, and it was unfair. But again, for the first time, not the first time, but I learned compassion from that particular situation. Thank you all very much. When I left here, Stonewall, I'll tell you one other thing. When Stonewall first started, Doug Whaley and I used to dig into our pockets very often to keep it from going bankrupt.
And now we have a building that we own, and I think the monthly or the yearly income is like a million dollars or something like that. And they've grown very well, and they did very well after I left. So thank you all very much.
>> Hold on Rhonda?
I'm going to walk you over, and I'll let your son come up too. Do you want to come up with her for the picture?
>> Can we give another round of applause for all of our honorees this evening?
>> We've reached the finale of our program. Still, there's a little work.
I see that's what you never let me have the microphone. I'm giving a little work, a couple of assignments. We know that this was an inspiring night. We've learned so much about the challenges and triumphs our honorees and heard firsthand from some of those who are directly impacted by their work.
Before we leave, I think it's important to mention that we have a digital artist who made the lovely renderings of the honorees that we have seen tonight, Melina Ransom, who is a 2020 graduate.
>> Is Melina here? Please don't be shy, stand up. She's not here, okay, good.
Cuz everybody's was, I want a picture. No, I'm joking. I'm joking, sorry.
>> She is so talented. Let's give her a round of applause so everybody knows, great work she did.
>> They were really breathtaking. And, of course, we want to take just a moment to reflect on this land, which is the Ohio State University.
Thank you. And now I know that many of you watch me in the morning and you like to hear me talk. You don't wanna hear me sing. So if you would please join me and help me as we sing a tribute to our beloved alma mater. Please rise if you are able, and join me in singing Carmen, Ohio.
>> Good night, everyone. We hope you had a great time.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you, good night.