Gay author speaks in Russell House Ballroom
Attending Harvard Law School with President Barack Obama was just one of the many stories political activist Keith Boykin has to tell.
Boykin, an openly gay African-American author who has appeared on CNN and BET, not only shared personal stories of fighting to be himself in the face of adversity, but of actively working against injustice throughout his life.
Carolina Productions and Multicultural Student Affairs brought Boykin to the Russell House Ballroom, where he encouraged students to be happy and satisfied with who they are and to try to change the bad in the world.
He framed his speech around the famous Robert Frost quote “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by.”
As a student at Harvard Law, Boykin and about 13 students sued the university for racial discrimination because there was no diversity in the faculty.
From Harvard to his political career working for several campaigns — all unsuccessful except the last, Bill Clinton’s presidential run — Boykin said he worked passionately for what he believed in and did what he thought was right, especially when that was difficult.
While the ballroom’s attendance was low, those in attendance were impressed by Boykin’s story.
“To be honest, it was extra credit for Human Sexual Behavior, but I came and was really impressed,” said Melissa Murphy, a third-year mathematics major. “I kind of went into it blind, but I’m very feminist and I’m all for standing up for who you are and what you believe in.”