The Daily Illini Champaign County Board Chair Tricia Avery presents a talk Saturday morning at the YMCA building. Avery discussed her career and experiences as the first African-American woman to serve as the Champaign County Board Chair. The new chair of the Champaign County Board would like the world to be more like the movie The Wizard of Oz. Tricia Avery offered this example when she spoke at the University YMCA on Saturday and praised how the characters in the movie work together to reach their destination, but do not focus on their differences.
Diversity is what makes life really exciting.
We are paralyzed without the help of one another. The characters in the movie face different obstacles while working toward their goal, just as Avery faced adversity during her journey to the position of county chair. Avery is the first African-American woman to hold the position and had to work harder to achieve what she has because of her race, she said. It was not a road easily traveled. Avery explained that when she was making the decision to run for office, she felt some people in the county government opposed her because she's African-American.