Dr. Simons nodded again and leaned in so that his head was only a few feet from mine. “It’s a national issue and one that affects our students of color every day, especially our young men.” He extended a hand at me. “And our faculty even. We are part of this community and we can’t look the other way on this.”

I nodded again, not sure how to act. I had no clue what else to say. “Okay, thank you again, sir. I—”

I opened my mouth to say some generic, cordial thing and walk out of the office, but instead decided to say what I was thinking. “I walked in here expecting to be told to shut down my Twitter account or else.” I shook my head, needing to get all of this out. “I’m not used to getting this kind of support. I’m not even sure what to say.”

He waved me off with a kind smile and for the first time I was really seeing him. “We hired you because you were the best candidate we had on this search, Patrice, but also because you were walking the walk. I am tired of hiring faculty that have no interest of ever being in the world they’re trying to figure out.” He paused then and I could tell he was debating whether to say more. “The reason I initially asked you to meet me was because another faculty member seems determined to paint your activism in a negative light.”

Brad.

He pursed his mouth as if he found whatever he was remembering distasteful. “What good are we if we don’t figure out how to use the knowledge we have to challenge ourselves and our communities? Good research is not enough, we have to be good citizens too.” The fire in his eyes reminded me of my advisor at Columbia, and I wondered how I hadn’t noticed I had an ally in this place all along.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” I said sincerely.

I looked at his office and saw photos of him and students at different events. Every single one, some old and some more recent, showed him surrounded by diverse groups of kids. His arms usually around a couple of them. His office wasn’t full of fancy leather and wood furniture. It was cluttered and a little dusty. It was a workspace.

I stood up, feeling humbled. It wasn’t like every person in the department was going to be like Dr. Simons, or even close, but he and I were here and that mattered.

I extended my hand to him and he gripped it, with that small smile still on his lips. “Just let me know how I can help.”