What up though?!
Welcome to my page! My name is Jerad (jur-ahd) Green (he/him pronouns) and I am a husband, father, brother, son, basketball fanatic, and music enthusiast. I am a Black, disabled, hetersexual, cisgender, man of size. I also happen to be a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practitioner and consultant. My family has southern roots with a father from Alabama and a mother from Mississippi. My father often speaks of fond memories of farming and long church days in a southern Baptist family. My mother speaks of her family’s activist history as supporters and contributors of the Black liberation movements of the 70’s. However, both of my parents found themselves in Ohio, in and near Cleveland, where members of my family settled down and established roots. This happens to be where I was born. Throughout my childhood, I lived several states, attended multiple schools, and experienced poverty and homelessness. I grew up in primarily white communities where I was one of a handful of Black students in my schools. My parents always told me that education was the key to success and often that meant getting in good with the white folks. Unfortunately, like many Black students, I was caught in a liminal space of being too Black for the white kids and too white for the Black kids. It wasn’t until college that I had real opportunities to explore my identity as a Black man. I immediately joined the Black Cultural Awareness Association and eventually served in multiple leadership roles. Most importantly, I co-founded a diversity resource center at my alma mater that served as a place for minoritized students to visit to learn and support one another. These experiences were a huge part of my identity development as a Black man and social justice advocate. After college, I wanted to further my social justice advocacy work through student affairs by working in multicultural centers and DEI offices. After several years in the field, I came to a reckoning point where I realized the work being done was a band-aid to larger systemic issues. At that point, I transitioned into government to work with others to have a greater impact on those who continue to be harmed by our society’s practices, policies, procedures and ideologies. Foundational to my work is the power of relationships to transform our lives and society.
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