The numbers are stark. Majority culture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and within Dane County is 85% White. What does this mean for members of non-majority cultures? How do they experience worship, work, and everyday life in environments that are predominantly White?

Our speaker, Jemar Tisby, knows that being a person of color in a predominantly White culture or institution can be a lonely and wearisome experience. He also knows what it takes to maneuver in such environments and to work for positive change while there. In this meeting, Jemar will draw on his personal experience, scholarship, and research in racial identity development and US history. His goal is to empower racial and ethnic minorities to be agents of positive change in their organizations and environments, as well as to reinforce the need for White people to engage in change that benefits ethnic minorities.

Event Partner

Upper House is honored to partner with the UW-Madison chapter of The Impact Movement for this event. Following Jemar’s talk, we will be joined by a panel of people of color—two students from UW-Madison and two community members—who will share their lived experiences in what is sure to be an illuminating discussion.

About the Speaker

Jemar Tisby is co-founder and president of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, where he writes about race, religion, politics, and culture. He is also the co-host of the Pass the Mic  podcast. The author of The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism  (Zondervan, 2019) and How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice  (Zondervan, forthcoming 2021), Jemar has spoken at conferences nationwide and been featured in the Washington Post, CNN, and Vox. Currently, Jemar is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Mississippi, where he researches race, religion, and social movements in the twentieth century. He holds both a BA from the University of Notre Dame and an M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary.

Statistics References

“Data Digest.” Academic Planning and Institutional Research, apir.wisc.edu/data-digest/.
“QuickFacts Dane County, Wisconsin.” United States Census Bureau,  https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/danecountywisconsin.