PMG Hosts CBID Conversation with Minnijean Brown-Trickey

One of our core values is to be inclusive. The ‘DIG In’ speaker series is one of the ways we build a Culture of Belonging, Inclusion, and Diversity (CBID) at PMG. We invite outside experts, leaders, and luminaries to share their experiences and journeys with us, with the goal of using those stories as launching points for our own individual and collective efforts to make a better PMG, industry, and community.

We recently welcomed Minnijean Brown-Trickey to help us celebrate Black History Month. As a member of the Little Rock Nine, Minnijean wasn’t just a witness to history but an active participant who helped desegregate public schools and alter the course of education in America. Since then, she’s dedicated her life to social justice as an award-winning teacher, writer, and community worker; she’s received the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the Wolf Award, and a medal from the W.E.B. DuBois Institute, and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Workforce Diversity at the Department of Interior.

In a fireside chat with Joshua Dienye, co-lead of PMG’s Multicultural ERG, Minnijean shared a fascinating recollection of Arkansas in 1957 and being escorted into Central High by U.S. soldiers. She talked about how her experience then shaped who she wanted to be in life—an advocate for change and justice through non-violent means, a choice that carried her from the beginnings of her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement to the present day.

Minnijean also shared about her work with students, remembering the lessons learned through history and her belief that the reason why we choose to do something (or not) is as important as the act itself.

Our team was fortunate to hear from someone who’s lived life with such grace, rose above adversity, and persevered with determination, love, and hope. Thank you, Minnijean, for joining us!