DEIB Speaker Discusses Truth, Identity and Self-Acceptance

Parker’s 7th Annual Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Speaker Lacey Schwartz Delgado joined students at Morning Ex and the public in the evening to take a journey of feeling different, uncovering the truth and accepting multiple facets of one’s identity. 

Schwartz Delgado is an award-winning producer, writer, director and outreach strategist whose documentary, Little White Lies, chronicles her own personal years-long story of discovering her biracial identity after growing up believing she was white. Schwartz Delgado discussed growing up in a white, Jewish family and how she, like most, felt secure as an extension of her family because in youth, “We are who our family is.” However, she knew she appeared different from her family with darker skin, which her family explained was a resemblance to her Sicilian great-grandfather.

It wasn’t until Schwartz Delgado applied to college at Georgetown University that she started to truly explore her identity. Based on a picture submission with her application, Georgetown admitted Schwarz Delgado as a Black student. She was invited to join Black student spaces, where she felt more security and acceptance than she previously had. 

She eventually worked up the courage to discover the truth of her heritage and confronted her mother, who revealed that she had had an affair with a Black man. This revelation led to the creation of her documentary, which includes conversations with various members of her family and personal reflection on her own identity. 

During a Q&A with students, Schwartz Delgado discussed the highs and lows of telling your own story, but in the end, she said, “Personal storytelling is having the courage and making the time to have difficult conversations to move forward in your life.” She spoke about personal struggles often being universal experiences and the isolation one can feel if they assume they are the only one going through something; but with access to others’ stories, people can see similarities across experience. 

Stories like Schwartz Delgado’s inspire our community to explore their own identity and embrace all parts of themselves. We are grateful to her for spending the day with the community!

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