Edward Stone

What program do you teach in?

I teach graduate level classes within the School of Psychology & Counseling.

Who or what has inspired you?

My mother is the one person who I would say has had the greatest impact on the way I see and understand the world because she has never been someone to let others write her story for her. She’s one of those people who told me I could do or be anything and she meant it when she said it. My father definitely instilled that in me as well and I’m thankful for the role they both have played in shaping who I am today and helping me to see myself as someone who is here for a reason. They both inspired me to think that way and I’ve always carried that with me. 

What does racial equity and social justice mean to you?

I would define racial equity in terms of equal access to resources and opportunities for individual people as well as across systems. In order to achieve that we need to acknowledge the legacy of oppression that our society was built upon and take steps to address the inequity that persists in our systems and institutions in modern day times. Social justice to me is the means of accomplishing that end. Social justice is something that we have to live, it can’t just be the intellectual indictment of racism and other “ism’s” in our country. 

What is your favorite book, poetry, documentary or other resource on Black history?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley. Each time I read it, I pick up different things from it so in that way it’s one of those gifts that keeps giving. The first time I read it was as a teenager and I still remember this quote that I had underlined at that time, “It has always been my belief that I, too, will die by violence. I have done all that I can to be prepared.” That has always stuck with me because it shows who Malcolm X was. At his core, he was someone who cared deeply enough about the cause that he was willing to die for it. That’s a level of conviction that is unassailable and I hope to one day feel that kind of passion and that level of commitment in what I stand for.

When I dream in Black...

I tap into my roots and I feel the spirit of my ancestors. I bear witness to the sacrifice that was made so that I can live my life freely and without being bound to the limitations that others would place upon me and before me. When I dream in Black, I step into self-determination, and I bring life to the principle of Kujichagulia.