Spence Introduced Khuram Hussain who has been named Middlebury’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Khuram was excited to have met Spence at an MLK Jr Dinner and was grateful for the opportunity to talk to Rotary.

Khuram is from a small town on the other side of the Adirondacks and moved to various cities, but is happy to be back in a small town. However, it has brought back a lot of memories of how he grew up and his passion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.  

Khuram started off by asking everyone to pair with their neighbor and talk about how they got their name. He encouraged folks to say as much or as little as they wanted to about their name. Khuram was named by his mother after a Prince in Pakistan who later became a king, and indicated that many mothers think their sons are kings and that “Khuram” is a very “generic'' Pakistani name. Then, everyone went around the room and introduced their neighbors. We saw  that many folks got their names from an influence around Religion, Ancestors, Relatives, and forced name changes. Khuram had folks reflect on what it felt like to listen and then share someone else’s story. It was not always easy to share the story with the same impact and details. 

Khuram went on to discuss what it means to be part of the community, and carrying other people’s stories, and how they are shared and represented. He provided us with some thoughts on “what is our responsibility in sharing stories with absolute truth?” Khuram explained that societies often feel that talking about truth is a “Zero-sum” game where lifting others takes away from some - BUT we have nothing to lose! There is beauty in diversity and learning from each other's stories. Khuram discussed the small town racism he has seen and experienced, even if it is only 1 or 2 kids doing the bullying - this is harmful. He experienced that as a young man in school and there were no “upstanders” to say something. 

Khuram’s goal is to educate the community and children that “Difference” is beautiful! As Rotarians what is our responsibility to include all views and share our story, and the story of others? 

Thank you, Khuram! 

Cow Tag: #79