Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) hosted a special event honoring black history with FDLTCC alumnus, Serrano Robinson, on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. During his presentation, Serrano discussed his personal experiences and shared thoughts on discrimination, appropriation, and how to treat those different from us. The informative event also featured a delicious soul food feast catered by JamRock Cultural Restaurant.

Serrano shared, “When working with black students, we often ask why don’t they go to school. Rather we should be asking what are the conditions like in school that makes it hard, uncomfortable, and not safe for them to be successful?”

The presentation from Serrano Robinson was a great opportunity for the college’s students, staff, and faculty to learn and grow. The event is one of many hosted by FDLTCC that helps celebrate the college’s mission to provide higher education opportunities for its communities in a welcoming, culturally diverse environment.

Serrano ended his presentation with an important question for everyone to consider. He asked, “How do you treat someone?” Serrano explains, “Now we know how we treat people who look like us, act like us, and connect with us. But I would push to ask – how do you treat someone who does NOT look like you, have your same hairstyle or even speak your language?”

Serrano Robinson is passionate about social change and stands firmly on youth development and equity. He draws on his own childhood experiences growing up in a low-income area to develop common ground in his work with youth as Mega Coordinator at Men as Peacemakers. The mission of Men as Peacemakers is, “To engage individuals and communities in innovative strategies that promote equality, repair harm, and prevent violence against women and children.” Visit https://www.menaspeacemakers.org/ to learn more about Men as Peacemakers.

JamRock Cultural Restaurant is an experience created to bring diversity together, while changing your palate for years to come. Owner and head chef, Tony O’Neil, was born in Miami, FL and raised in Jamaica. To learn more about JamRock Cultural Restaurant, visit https://jamrockculturalrestaurant.com/about-us.