I spent the weekend with Tam Tran in San Francisco over a month ago–but only after her participation in an opening plenary session at the American Sociological Association on Building Excellent, Diverse, and Just Communities: A Conversation Among Artists, Academics, and Activists. As a graduate student at Brown University who is fighting for instate-tuition at Rhode Island and wants to spend life behind the camera, Tam Tran fits the bill of a ‘scholar/activist’ who works through the art of film-making.

And we got a shoutout–which is reason enough for me to post this video.

Some common-sense advice wrapped in eloquent sentences from the session:

Some of the most imaginative thinking and innovative ideas occur when people from diverse backgrounds think and work together on common concerns. Solving the many complex social problems that confront us today requires that the best minds be at the table. Building communities across multiple differences is one path to innovation and excellence.

I belong in academia, which is why it is tough for me to go from conference to conference each year, only to hear the same message reiterated without action. Be it panels at International Studies Association or the American Association of Geographers and now the American Sociological Association, the end result is the almost always the same: few people make any effort to reach out of their comfort bubble and established niches. (It’s also true for all the social media and immigration conferences). Fewer [academics] adopt new media for their research/work. It’s the brutal world of ‘publish or perish’ and for scholar/activists, it is harder to gain a tenure track position for survival.