Kelsey Hightower Channels Maya Angelou to Talk About Race at GopherCon
Published: 2016-07-11 19:01:14

<p>Paying homage to Maya Angelou's <a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/still-i-rise" target="_blank">Still I Rise</a>&nbsp;poem, <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower" target="_blank">Kelsey Hightower</a> delivered a powerful opening talk at GopherCon. I was&nbsp;not there to see it, but I smiled and teared up when it showed up in my&nbsp;Twitter feed. Kelsey used poetry to talk about race, programming, and togetherness. I felt compelled to&nbsp;share this speech alongside some of Kelsey's other public thoughts leading up to the event.</p>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower">@kelseyhightower</a>'s opening talk from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gophercon?src=hash">#gophercon</a>. <a href="https://t.co/PpjqjEN3Ei">pic.twitter.com/PpjqjEN3Ei</a></p>
&mdash; Jaana Burcu Dogan (@rakyll) <a href="https://twitter.com/rakyll/status/752522386017284096">July 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<h2>Kelsey on July 9th:&nbsp;</h2>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It's almost time for GopherCon! Unfortunately I'm not as excited as one could be. In many ways I feel like I'm heading to the wrong event.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/751598749965623296">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">In the real world, the one I can't hide from, there are more important things taking place at the moment.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/751599020364013568">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Its always been hard being a person of color, a black man, and needing to following the rules -- you have to be twice as good to fit in.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/751599921459900416">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">But what's the point of fitting in when people are being killed for being black. Outside the conference venue I'm just another black person.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/751602470971772928">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A black person hoping that his status in the tech community will somehow protect him from mistaken identity or a traffic stop gone bad.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/751603304312950784">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">My apologies if I'm not my "normal" self during next week's festivities. While I want to join the celebration I can't ignore the protest.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/751604677066698752">July 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<h2>Kelsey on March 12th:</h2>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Time to reflect on an important conversation I had at Kubecon today. It was not about tech per-se, it was about diversity.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708465638864523265">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I don&rsquo;t normally engage in diversity conversations, but this time I could not avoid it. This time I did not want to.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708465856884445185">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A person came up to me that I&rsquo;ve seen at other conferences and I braced myself for an engaging technical discussion.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708466843036610560">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">This person and I shared something in common. We were both black males at a tech conference. This rarely happens.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708467004907393024">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I was not ready for his question. I thought it would be about Kubernetes, those are easy, but the question was&hellip;</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708467242476957696">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Person: Can I ask you something about diversity? Then he gave me that look you give someone after asking a tough question.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708467557095833600">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A few moments passed by&hellip;<br /><br />Then I was like "Sure. Fire away".</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708467887778963456">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Truth is I was not ready. I was in a public place and I knew my response would be heard by everyone around me. This is a touchy subject.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708468061410598912">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Person: I go to several technical events and I&rsquo;m the only black person there. I go to work and it&rsquo;s the same thing. How do you deal with it?</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708468239043526657">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I gave my view. In short I focus on being present. Even if I&rsquo;m only being invited because I&rsquo;m black. I accept and go hard. Rinse and repeat.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708468436343590913">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It&rsquo;s the way I deal with it. Sometimes I do feel out of place, but I&rsquo;m lucky. Some people recognize me and make me feel more than welcome.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708468618758135808">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Then it got really emotional. I almost cried in front of everyone, but I was not embarrassed.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708468776120033280">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Person: I remember watching one of your videos on YouTube. Not only was I impressed, but inspired. So now I&rsquo;m here.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708469071973584896">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Person: I never felt like I needed that. I never felt like I needed to be inspired. But after watching the video I was touched.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708469356691382273">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is the point where I cried inside. It was clear I was emotional. See this is a real conversation. This is what it's like to be human.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708470039029157888">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I felt like all those late nights, long flights, and side projects had finally paid off. This was my greatest career achievement.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708471001877716992">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I will never get promoted because of this, and I won't have a trophy to show off, but this is winning. This is what you want.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708471598282625024">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">The day before this person brought his son with him to the conference. I saw them outside together so I introduced myself to the little guy.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708475026010456065">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Then after he told me about the Youtube video, he told me why he brought is son to Kubecon.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708475529448562688">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Person: I brought my son here so I could show him that we can do this. That he could do this.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708476176650653697">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Person: I brought my son here so he could see others here that look like him. Not just attending, but giving the talks, and leading.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708476705770438656">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It's ok to cry right?</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708478475959734272">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">At this point I'll thinking this person brought his son to see me. Was I a role model? Not sure, but I'm glad I took the time to say hello.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708480871817474048">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you all for listening. You inspire me. You are the reason this moment was possible.</p>
&mdash; Kelsey Hightower (@kelseyhightower) <a href="https://twitter.com/kelseyhightower/status/708481523524243456">March 12, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p>Thank you for your <a href="https://gist.github.com/kelseyhightower/ad2735c1f82813fed4aedd9c3ef669f3" target="_blank">beautiful words</a>.</p>
<p>To find out all about Kelsey's work, check out his appearance on Software Engineering Daily: <a href="../../sedaily/kubernetes-docker-and-the-distributed-operating-system-with-kelsey-hightower">Kubernetes, Docker, and the Distributed Operating System with Kelsey Hightower</a>.</p>